Gorilla Facts

*Note: The reason why there’s a question mark after the nomenclature (name) of the Bwindi Gorilla is because until recently it was considered to be part of the sub-species Mountain Gorilla. But now it’s not considered not to be and until further notice its classification is unresolved.

* The numbers in parentheses are approximately how many of a given gorilla sub-species remain. The reason why these figures are estimates is because of the difficulty in tracking the gorillas for a census count as a result of regional conflicts from a few years back.

A species’ name is binomial (two words in the name). The first word is the generic name and always starts with a Capital letter. The second word is the specific name and always begins with a small letter. If there’s a third word in the name this refers to the sub-species of that particular species. So for example Gorilla beringei graueri , Gorilla refers to the genus, beringei refers to the species and graueri refers to the sub-species.

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Gorillas possess 98% of the same nuclear DNA as humans
There's a greater degree of difference between gorilla vs chimp DNA in contrast to gorilla vs human DNA
Gorillas are the biggest primate (note humans are primates)
Gorillas, chimpanzees and humans are classified under the same family--Hominidae
Gorillas and chimps used to be classified under the family Pongidae--Now only the orangutan remains in the Pongidae family
There're two species of gorilla: Western Gorilla and Eastern Gorilla
The largest subspecies of gorilla is the Grauer's gorilla (eastern lowland gorilla)
A group of gorillas is called a troop
A silverback gorilla is so-called because of the greyish/silver patch he gains on his back when he attains maturity
Eastern gorillas tend to have blacker hair than their Western counterparts who tend to be browner
Gorillas have hair not fur
Mountain gorillas have longer hair, larger jaws and teeth, smaller noses and shorter arms than other gorillas
Gorilla arms are longer than their legs and in the western gorilla the male's arm span extends 7-9 feet--longer than the gorilla is tall
Not a single one of the gorillas in zoos around the world is a mountain gorilla--they are all lowland gorillas
Mountain gorillas tend to die in captivity
Most gorillas seen on safari are habituated mountain gorillas (bwindi subspecies too)
Gorillas are mainly folivorous though they may supplement their diet with insects and small animals
Gorillas live to approx. 35-40yrs in the wild and about 50 years in captivity
Male gorilla heights average between 5.6 -6.0 feet (1.7 - 1.8 meters)
Male gorillas weigh between 300 - 500 lbs (136 -227 kgs)
Female gorillas are significantly smaller. Height: usually no more than 5ft (1.5 meters) Weight 150-200 lbs (68-91kgs)
Gorillas are naturally found only in Africa
Western gorillas are found in the West-Central African region
Eastern gorillas live in the East-Central African region
An adult male eats up to 40 pounds of food a day
Dian Fossey was the foremost person responsible for alerting the public at large to the plight of the mountain gorilla
Gorillas like other primates are now known to use tools--even wild gorillas have been observed using tools
December 22, 1956 was the date of the first registered gorilla birth in captivity at Columbus Zoo in Ohio
Until the late 1970s, thousands of gorillas were slaughtered in order to capture young gorillas destined for zoos
By the end of 1991, 53% of all gorillas in zoos were born in captivity
To date more than 760 gorillas reside in over 140 zoos