The eastern gorilla is more darkly coloured than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair.

Jan 1, 2026 · Gorilla, genus of primates containing the largest of the apes. The gorilla is one of the closest living relatives to humans. Only the chimpanzee and the bonobo are closer. Gorillas live only …

Gorilla populations have dramatically declined since the early 1980s, with almost half of the entire eastern gorilla population suspected to have been wiped out.

The two gorilla species—the eastern and western gorilla—live in equatorial Africa, separated by about 560 miles of Congo Basin forest. Each has a lowland and upland subspecies.

Although they’re over 10 times stronger than humans, they share 98.3% of their DNA with us—making the gorilla our closest cousin after chimpanzees and bonobos.

Gorilla facts - The gentle giants of the African forest, gorillas are the largest living primate and one of our closest living relatives.

The rampant destruction of fragile forest habitat is one of the greatest threats to gorilla survival. Logging and mining companies destroy gorilla habitat across their range in Central Africa to meet demand for …

For more than 30 years, ongoing field research on the mountain gorillas has made them the most studied subspecies of gorilla. George Schaller conducted the first long-term research study on …

The gorilla occurs in two species, the western gorilla and the eastern gorilla. Both species are endangered due to poaching, loss of habitat, and death caused by the ebola virus.

Two species of gorilla are currently recognized: a western species (Gorilla gorilla) and an eastern species (Gorilla beringei) (Groves, 2001; Grubb et al., 2003).