Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into 2 species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either 4 or 5 subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95-99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25-1.8 meters, weights between 100–270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 meters, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The eastern gorilla is distinguished from the western by darker fur color and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35-40 years in the wild.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200-4,300 meters (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
There are thought to be around 316,000 western gorillas in the wild, and 5,000 eastern gorillas. Both species are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN; all subspecies are classified as critically endangered with the exception of the mountain gorilla, which is classified as endangered. There are many threats to their survival, such as poaching, habitat destruction, and disease, which threaten the survival of the species. However, conservation efforts have been successful in some areas where they live.
Appearances[]
A gorilla (specifically the western lowland gorilla) represents the letter G in the computer game Animal Alphabet (where the gorilla was featured in a game for that letter).
The gorilla (specifically the western lowland gorilla) is among the animals in the Creature Feature section of the Zoboomafoo website (Feature Creature #36). It is also among the animals in the Snack Machine game (Animal #12), and among the choices in the Mystery Animal game (Mystery Animal #1).