Zuri

Western lowland gorillas face extinction in the wild, making every birth in managed care precious for the species’ future. Zuri entered the world at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo on May 5, 2019, the daughter of Bambio and Tambo.

Captive-born gorillas like her represent hope for a subspecies that has lost much of its natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment. She has spent her early years learning from her mother and developing the social skills essential to gorilla life.

At just five years old, she remains in the early stages of her development. Her subspecies — Gorilla gorilla gorilla — carries the grim distinction of being listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with wild populations continuing to decline across central Africa.