Zaire

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, with fewer than 100,000 left across their African range. Born at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in October 1974, Zaire was the daughter of Nandi and Jambo, part of a captive breeding program for this critically endangered subspecies.

She spent her first decade at Durrell before moving to the Zoological Society of London in 1984. There she would remain for over three decades, becoming one of the institution’s longest-resident great apes. Her life spanned nearly half a century of conservation efforts for Gorilla gorilla gorilla.

Zaire died in January 2020 at age 45, having lived through decades of changing approaches to gorilla care and conservation. Her 45-year lifespan represents the upper range of what western lowland gorillas can achieve in managed care, far exceeding typical wild lifespans shortened by habitat loss and hunting pressure.