Gorilla

Western Lowland Gorillas are native to central Africa, though our gorillas were all born and raised in other American zoos. Here in Houston, two troops call the zoo home. They have been specifically chosen to make the move to Houston as part of the Species Survival Plan.

Animal Facts

Scientific Name

Gorilla gorilla

Range

Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon

Location in the Zoo

African Forest

Cool Animal Fact

Gorillas have unique nose prints and fingerprints. Scientists use nose prints to identify gorillas in the wild.

How We Help Save Them

The Houston Zoo’s annual cell phone recycling challenge recycled 1,544 devices, reducing the need to mine for materials in gorilla habitat.
The Zoo provides veterinary and education training, equipment, and support for our African gorilla conservation partners (see below).
The Zoo provides support for African gorilla conservation veterinarians from Gorilla Doctors to performed routine health checks and medical interventions on gorillas in the wild. They remove snares and/or providing medications to improve the health of the wild gorilla groups.

How You Can Help

Donate now to help save gorillas in the wild.

DONATE TODAY

Gorilla Habitat Cam

View Live Webcam

Our Conservation Partners

How We Help Them

The Zoo provides support for Rwandan children to plant native plants around areas where gorillas live.
The Zoo provides support for Rwandan students to participate in weekly programs that increased their understanding of wildlife and gorillas and how wildlife can benefit the local community.
The Zoo provides support for lambs, latrines, and fuel-saving cooking stoves to be donated to schoolchildren families from CHT classes, providing families with an alternative source of income and decreasing the need to harvest resources from Virunga National Park.

How You Can Help

Recycle your old handheld electronic devices, such as cell phones, as these devices contain a material called tantalum that is mined in gorilla habitat.

Donate to help gorillas in the wild:

Donate Today

How We Help Them

The Zoo provides support for routine health checks performed on wild gorillas in Virunga, Volcanoes, Mgahinga, Bwindi Impenetrable, and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks.
The Zoo provides support for African veterinarians to perform 39 interventions to remove snares and/or provide antibiotics for wild gorillas suffering from respiratory and other illnesses.