Of all the primates, the gorilla is the largest. It is known as one of the four types of great apes, that consists of gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees and orangutans. There are two main types or gorilla species including Western and Eastern. Of these species, there are subspecies. The Western gorilla is classified as the Western lowland and the Cross River. The Eastern gorilla’s subspecies include the Eastern lowland and the Mountain. Gorillas are known for their massive weight and size. Large male gorillas living in a natural habitat may weigh up to 400 pounds and may stand up to 6’ in height. Female gorillas weigh less than males and are shorter in stature weighing roughly 200 pounds and standing approximately 5'6".
A gorilla’s natural habitat is the African rainforests. Gorilla subspecies are determined by the region in which they live. Western gorillas reside from Nigeria to the Congo River while Eastern gorillas are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mountain gorillas are found throughout Uganda, Rwanda and the Virunga Mountains.
Click to learn more about gorilla habitats including lesson plans, worksheets, printables and videos.
Gorillas: Lesson plans, printables and videos
View the slideshow for photos of various gorillas and watch the video for more information regarding how climate change is affecting gorillas in their natural habitats.
Gorrilla Photos: Slideshow Descriptions and Credits for Pictures
Photos 1-5: BUKIMA, NORTH KIVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - NOVEMBER 25: The first sighting of new Mountain Gorilla babies in the family of Kabirizi, November 25, 2008. There appear to be at least 5 new births in the family. This is the first sighting of Mountain Gorillas in Virunga National Park by ICCN Congolese Conservation Authority rangers in over 15 months. The Gorilla Sector of the Park has been occupied by the rebel movement CNDP under rebel Congolese Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda. Since September 2007 no ICCN Ranger has set foot in this sector, almost all had to flee the fighting and it has not been safe to return. Recent violence in the region has seen CNDP extend its power in the region and it now controls over 50% of the park and all of the Southern section. Emmanuel De Merode, the Director of Virunga National Park, has performed some remarkable diplomacy since the recent fighting and has successfully negotiated with CNDP and General Nkunda to return the ICCN Rangers to the Park. This is a fragile process but so far 120 courageous Rangers are back at the Southern Headquarters at Rumangabo and there is a camp in the Gorilla Sector at Bukima which has begun a Gorilla census to determine the effects of the war on the mountain Gorilla population. It is a remarkable case of conservation winning out over politics. The DRC had just over 200 of the extremely rare mountain Gorillas, of which there are only 680 in the world. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
Photos 6-8: Binti Jua, a Western Gorilla, reclines with her son Bakari at the Brookfield Zoo September 13, 2007 in Brookfield, Illinois. Western Gorillas have been listed as 'critically endangered,' one step away from global extinction, by the World Conservation Union. Binti drew international attention in 1996 when she retrieved a three-year-old child that fell around 20 feet into the enclosure. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo 9: Western Gorillas Binti Jua (top) and her granddaughter Kambu recline at the Brookfield Zoo September 13, 2007 in Brookfield, Illinois. Western Gorillas have been listed as 'critically endangered,' one step away from global extinction, by the World Conservation Union. Binti drew international attention in 1996 when she retrieved a three-year-old child that fell around 20 feet into the enclosure. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo 10: Two young Western Gorillas play at the Brookfield Zoo September 13, 2007 in Brookfield, Illinois. Western Gorillas have been listed as 'critically endangered,' one step away from global extinction, by the World Conservation Union. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photo 11: Three-year old lowland gorilla Pinga rests July 18, 2006 at the Diane Fossey gorilla center in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. She and other orphaned gorillas at the center were rescued from poachers and are now cared for by gorilla specialists trying to preserve the dwindling population of great apes in Congo. Some 4,000 lowland gorillas live in Congo, down from a population of more than 20,000 ten years ago. Recent years of war and chaos have depleted the population. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Photo 12: Three-year-old lowland gorilla Pinga plays with fellow orphans July 18, 2006 at the Diane Fossey gorilla center in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. She and other gorillas at the center were rescued from poachers and are now cared for by gorilla specialists trying to preserve the dwindling population of great apes in Congo. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Photo 13: Four-month-old lowland gorilla Tumaini learns to walk July 18, 2006 at the Diane Fossey gorilla center in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Tumaini, which means 'hope' in the Kiswili language, was rescued from poachers two months ago and arrived to the center in poor health. She and other gorillas are cared for by gorilla specialists trying to preserve the dwindling population of great apes in Congo. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Photo 14: A Gorilla feeds it's two-week-old baby at the Safari zoo on November 14, 2012 in Ramat Gan, Israel. Two gorillas have been born in as many weeks at the zoo. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Photo 15: A Gorilla feeds it's two-week-old baby at the Safari zoo on November 14, 2012 in Ramat Gan, Israel. Two gorillas have been born in as many weeks at the zoo. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Photo 16: A Gorilla with it's two-week-old baby at the Safari zoo on November 14, 2012 in Ramat Gan, Israel. Two gorillas have been born in as many weeks at the zoo. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Photo 17: A Gorilla feeds it's four-day-old baby at the Safari zoo on November 14, 2012 in Ramat Gan, Israel. Two gorillas have been born in as many weeks at the zoo. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Photo 18: A young lowland Gorilla munches on Matza, the unleavened cracker-like bread that religious Jews eat during the upcoming festival of Pesach (Passover), as the Safari Park prepares to serve the animals only Kosher for Passover foods during the holiday on April 14, 2008 in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, Israel. The week-long festival which begins on April 19 commemorates the flight of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt as described in the book of Exodus, when, according to the biblical account, the Jews did not have time to prepare leavened bread before fleeing the land of the Pharaohs. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)
Photo 19: Gorillas munch on matza (unleavened bread ), the traditional food for the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover, April 19, 2005 at a Safari park in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, Israel. The park will only feed the animals food that is Kosher for Passover, a week-long holiday which marks the exodus of the Biblical Hebrews from ancient Egypt. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
Photo 20: A Gorilla munches on matza (unleavened bread ), the traditional food for the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover, April 19, 2005 at a Safari park in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, Israel. The park will only feed the animals food that is Kosher for Passover, a week-long holiday which marks the exodus of the Biblical Hebrews from ancient Egypt. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
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