Ukiwa

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 individuals remaining across their African range. Ukiwa was born into this critically endangered subspecies at Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart on a spring day in 1983. Her parents, Dina and Banjo, were part of the European breeding program working to maintain genetic diversity in captive populations.

At just three years old, she transferred to Wuppertal Zoo in October 1986. This move would define the rest of her life. For nearly four decades, she called Wuppertal home, becoming one of the zoo’s longest-resident great apes.

She lived through tremendous changes in gorilla care and conservation understanding. When she arrived as a young gorilla in the 1980s, captive management was still evolving. By the time of her death in April 2026, she had witnessed decades of advancement in great ape welfare and habitat design.

Her 43-year lifespan represents the upper range for her species, whether in captivity or the wild. She died at Wuppertal Zoo in late April 2026, having spent the vast majority of her life contributing to our understanding of western lowland gorilla behavior and biology.