Kiondo

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Kiondo represents hope for his critically endangered subspecies through managed breeding programs that span international borders. Born to parents Kena and Xebo at Barcelona’s zoological park in October 2002, he entered a world where every birth matters for conservation.

His early months in Spain gave way to a childhood in Germany, where he spent three formative years at Stuttgart’s Wilhelma zoo. Those years shaped his development from infant to juvenile, a critical period for gorilla social learning and physical growth.

Since 2006, he has called Paignton Zoo home along the English coast. Now over two decades old, he has lived through the full transition from dependent youngster to mature silverback. His journey across three countries reflects the collaborative nature of European breeding programs, where gorillas move between facilities to maintain genetic diversity and strengthen the captive population of this endangered species.