One of the 2 gorillas on WAnimals
Mammals · Primates · Hominidae
Eastern Gorilla
Gorilla beringei
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
It lives in the mountain forests of Central Africa, in family groups led by a dominant male known as a silverback.
Weight
70 kg – 200 kg
Size
1.3 m – 1.8 m
Lifespan
40 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Fun facts
- It shares close to 98% of its DNA with humans.
- Only a little over a thousand are left in the wild.
- Each group has its own 'dialect' of calls.
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: June to September and December to February
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Eastern Gorilla — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
EndangeredChimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
Critically EndangeredWestern Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla
Bonobo
Pan paniscus
Least ConcernGuereza
Colobus guereza
Forest Hog
Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
L'Hoest's Monkey
Allochrocebus lhoesti
How to help
The eastern gorilla is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 4 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about eastern gorilla.
Comments
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