Adopt a Gorilla

Gorillas are balancing on the very edge of extinction.

Sadly, all four sub-species of gorilla are classified as endangered, or critically endangered, by the IUCN Red List. Their numbers have declined by 60% over the last 25 years, with the Ebola virus responsible for many deaths, alongside poaching for bushmeat, habitat loss, and infants being taken and sold into the illegal pet trade.

How your gorilla adoption helps overseas

The Aspinall Foundation remains one of the only organisations in the world to send gorillas back to the wild. In nearly 40 years, we have returned more than 75 Western lowland gorillas to their natural habitat in Congo and Gabon. In 2021, Djongo & Mayombe became the first ever captive-born gorillas to have a baby in the wild! The female baby was named Taàli, meaning ‘hope’ in the local Batéké language.

The birth was not only a hugely significant triumph for conservation, but a deeply moving legacy for Taàli’s grandfather Djala, now 40 years old, whose tragic early life saw him lose his family to poachers and endure abuse at the hands of his captors. Djala has lived in freedom on African soil since his rewilding to our Gorilla Protection Project in Gabon in 2013. 

You can ensure more gorillas like Djala, Djongo & Mayombe are returned to the wild.

The Aspinall Foundation runs a gorilla orphanage, supports local park rangers and works to protect roughly one million acres of prime gorilla habitat in the Batéké Plateau in Congo and Gabon. We also support a sniffer dog programme to enforce wildlife laws and provide deterrents to poaching.

Caring for gorillas in Kent

Our partner parks, Howletts Wild Animal Park and Port Lympne Reserve, are home to some stunning family and bachelor groups of gorillas. See them for free with your adoption (except Bronze).

Both parks have seen huge success with their captive breeding programmes and in July 2022 Howletts Wild Animal Park celebrated the 150^th gorilla birth since their first in 1975.

Adopt a gorilla with The Aspinall Foundation and help to protect  endangered species.

Fun facts about gorillas

• Gorilla noseprints are as unique as human fingerprints!
• Gorillas are very clever, and have been recorded making and using tools!
• Gorillas can weigh over 200kg and stand as tall as an average human.
• Gorillas are mostly herbivores, which means their diet is largely made up of plants – up to 30kg of them per day! However, some subspecies have been known to eat insects and snails,
• Adult males are known as ‘silverbacks'