Charles the Gorilla is a wild-born western lowland gorilla from Gabon, West Africa. Although the date of his birth is unknown his approximate date of birth is September 23, 1972. At a time when humans were less vigilant about their treatment of threatened and endangered species, Charles was sought after by a group of poachers interested in acquiring gorillas for international trade. (At the time, gorilla infants could fetch a price of up to $5000.00.) He is thought to have been found lying next to the corpse of his dead mother.