Rafiki

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Rafiki was born into this critically endangered subspecies at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in March 1984, the son of N’Pongo and Jambo.

His life spanned multiple institutions across two continents. After spending his early years at Durrell, he moved to North America in 1991, first briefly to Columbus Zoo before settling at Saint Louis Zoological Park. He lived there for nearly fourteen years, from adolescence into full adulthood.

In 2005, on his 21st birthday, he transferred to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. This became his final home, where he lived for over a decade until his death in September 2015. Kidney failure and gastrointestinal disease ultimately claimed his life at age 31.

His three decades in managed care represented the full lifespan of a western lowland gorilla born into conservation programs. Each transfer connected him to different breeding groups and conservation efforts aimed at maintaining genetic diversity for his critically endangered subspecies.