Gorillas

Gorillas live in central Africa and are the world's largest primates, with wild males weighing over 200kg. There are two species of gorilla, western and eastern, both of which have subspecies.

Species

  • Eastern Gorilla (beringei)

    Gorillas are the world's largest primate and for years they've been portrayed as fearsome and aggressive beasts. But gorillas are actually gentle giants that have strong family ties and live on a vegetarian diet.

  • Western gorilla (gorilla)

    Western gorillas are recognisable from their eastern cousins by an overhanging tip on the end of the nose. There are two subspecies of western gorilla: the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla..

About

Gorillas are the largest of the living primates. They are ground-dwelling and predominantly herbivorous. They inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and (still under debate as of 2008) either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is 98%–99% identical to that of a human, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species.

Gorillas live in tropical or subtropical forests. Although their range covers a small percentage of 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 metres (7,200–14,000 ft). Lowland Gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level.

Read more at Wikipedia

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Scientific Classification

Class: Mammal (Mammalia)

Order: Primate (Primates)

Family: Hominidae

Genus: Gorilla

Other Hominidae

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