Gorilla

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For other uses, see Gorilla (disambiguation).
"Blackback" and "Silverback" redirect here. For other uses, see Blackback
(disambiguation) and Silverback (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Guerrilla.

Gorilla

Western gorilla

(Gorilla gorilla)

Scientific classification

Kingdom Animalia
:

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Suborder: Haplorhini

Infraorde Simiiformes
r:

Family: Hominidae

Subfamil Homininae
y:

Tribe: Gorillini

Genus: Gorilla
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-

Hilaire, 1852

Type species

Troglodytes gorilla

Savage, 1847

Species

Gorilla gorilla
Gorilla beringei
 Distribution of gorillas

Synonyms

 Pseudogorilla Elliot,
1913

Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the

tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species:
the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies.
The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on
what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives
to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres,
weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on
species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback.
The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some
other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild.
The oldest gorilla ever is Fatou (b. 1957), who is still alive at the advanced age of 65
years.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan 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 to 4,300 metres (7,200
to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes
as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African
countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo near its border with Rwanda.
There are thought to be around 316,000 western gorillas in the wild, and 5,000 eastern
gorillas. Both species are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN; all
subspecies are classified as Critically Endangered with the exception of the mountain
gorilla, which is classified as Endangered. There are many threats to their survival, such
as poaching, habitat destruction, and disease, which threaten the survival of the
species. However, conservation efforts have been successful in some areas where they
live.
 Contents

 1Etymology
 2Evolution and classification
 3Characteristics
 4Distribution and habitat
 5Ecology
o 5.1Diet and foraging
o 5.2Nesting
o 5.3Threats and competition
 6Behaviour
o 6.1Social structure
o 6.2Reproduction and parenting
o 6.3Communication
 7Intelligence
o 7.1Tool use
 8Scientific study
o 8.1Genome sequencing
 9Captivity
 10Conservation status
 11Cultural significance
 12See also
 13References
o 13.1Literature cited
 14External links

Etymology
See also: Hanno the Navigator §  Gorillai
The word "gorilla" comes from the history of Hanno the Navigator (c. 500 BC),
a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition to the west African coast to the area that later
became Sierra Leone.[1][2] Members of the expedition encountered "savage people, the
greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters
called Gorillae".[3][4] It is unknown whether what the explorers encountered were what we
now call gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans. [5] Skins of gorillai
women, brought back by Hanno, are reputed to have been kept at Carthage until Rome
destroyed the city 350 years later at the end of the Punic Wars, 146 BC.
The American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and
naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the western gorilla in 1847 from specimens
obtained in Liberia.[6] They called it Troglodytes gorilla, using the then-current name of
the chimpanzee genus. The species name was derived from Ancient
Greek Γόριλλαι (gorillai)  'tribe of hairy women',[7] as described by Hanno.

Evolution and classification

The closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and
humans, all of them having diverged from a common ancestor about 7 million years
ago.[8] Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of
corresponding gorilla genes, but there is further difference in how many copies each
gene has.[9] Until recently, gorillas were considered to be a single species, with three
subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain
gorilla.[5][10] There is now agreement that there are two species, each with two
subspecies.[11] More recently, a third subspecies has been claimed to exist in one of the
species. The separate species and subspecies developed from a single type of gorilla
during the Ice Age, when their forest habitats shrank and became isolated from each
other.[12]
Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations.
[5]
 The species and subspecies listed here are the ones upon which most scientists
agree.[13][11]

Taxonomy of genus Gorilla[13] Phylogeny of superfamily Hominoidea[14]: Fig. 4 

 Genus Gorilla
o Western gorilla (G.
gorilla)
 Western
lowland
gorilla (G.  Hominoidea        
g. gorilla) humans (genus Homo)
         
 Cross  
River chimpanzees (genus Pan)
 
gorilla (G.
 
g. diehli) gorillas (genus Gorilla)
 
o Eastern gorilla (G.
 
beringei) orangutans (genus Pongo)
 
 Mountain
 
gorilla (G. gibbons (family Hylobatidae)
b.  
beringei)
 Eastern
lowland
gorilla (G.
b. graueri)

The proposed third subspecies of Gorilla beringei, which has not yet received
a trinomen, is the Bwindi population of the mountain gorilla, sometimes called
the Bwindi gorilla.
Some variations that distinguish the classifications of gorilla include varying density,
size, hair colour, length, culture, and facial widths. [12] Population genetics of the lowland
gorillas suggest that the western and eastern lowland populations diverged around 261
thousand years ago.[15]
Characteristics

Male gorilla skull

Wild male gorillas weigh 136 to 227 kg (300 to 500 lb), while adult females weigh 68–
113 kg (150–250 lb).[16][17] Adult males are 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) tall, with an
arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 m (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Female gorillas are
shorter at 1.25 to 1.5 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 11 in), with smaller arm spans.[18][19][20][21] Colin
Groves (1970) calculated the average weight of 42 wild adult male gorillas at 144 kg,
while Smith and Jungers (1997) found the average weight of 19 wild adult male gorillas
to be 169 kg.[22][23] Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks due to the characteristic
silver hair on their backs reaching to the hips. The tallest gorilla recorded was a 1.95 m
(6 ft 5 in) silverback with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), a chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in),
and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo, northern Kivu in May 1938.[21] The
heaviest gorilla recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) silverback shot in Ambam, Cameroon,
which weighed 267 kg (589 lb).[21] Males in captivity can be overweight and reach
weights up to 310 kg (683 lb).[21]

Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei)

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. The
western lowland gorilla can be brown or greyish with a reddish forehead. In addition,
gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky
mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the
western gorilla.[24] Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. [25][26] Their eye colour
is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described
as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla.
Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for
short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. A 2018 study
investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time,
and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on
their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). Such a range of hand postures was previously
thought to have been used by only orangutans.[27] Studies of gorilla handedness have
yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others
right-hand dominance for the general population. [28]
Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B monoclonal
antibodies, which would, in humans, indicate type O blood. Due to novel sequences,
though, it is different enough to not conform with the human ABO blood group system,
into which the other great apes fit.[29]
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live
for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and
Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January
2017.[30] Ozzie was 61 years old at the time of his death in January 2022. [31]

Distribution and habitat

Young gorilla climbing

Gorillas have a patchy distribution. The range of the two species is separated by
the Congo River and its tributaries. The western gorilla lives in west central Africa, while
the eastern gorilla lives in east central Africa. Between the species, and even within the
species, gorillas live in a variety of habitats and elevations. Gorilla habitat ranges
from montane forest to swampland. Eastern gorillas inhabit montane and submontane
forests between 650 and 4,000 m (2,130 and 13,120 ft) above sea level.[32]
Mountain gorillas live in montane forests at the higher end of the elevation range, while
eastern lowland gorillas live in submontane forests at the lower end. In addition, eastern
lowland gorillas live in montane bamboo forests, as well as lowland forests ranging from
600–3,308 m (1,969–10,853 ft) in elevation.[33] Western gorillas live in both lowland
swamp forests and montane forests, at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m
(5,200 ft).[32] Western lowland gorillas live in swamp and lowland forests ranging up to
1,600 m (5,200 ft), and Cross River gorillas live in low-lying and submontane forests
ranging from 150–1,600 m (490–5,250 ft).

Ecology
Diet and foraging

Gorillas moving in habitat

A gorilla's day is divided between rest periods and travel or feeding periods. Diets differ
between and within species. Mountain gorillas mostly eat foliage, such as leaves,
stems, pith, and shoots, while fruit makes up a very small part of their diets. [34] Mountain
gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with
one another. Their home ranges vary from 3 to 15 km2 (1.2 to 5.8 sq mi), and their
movements range around 500 m (0.31 mi) or less on an average day.[34] Despite eating a
few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a
variety of habitats.[34]

Gorilla foraging

Eastern lowland gorillas have more diverse diets, which vary seasonally. Leaves and
pith are commonly eaten, but fruits can make up as much as 25% of their diets. Since
fruit is less available, lowland gorillas must travel farther each day, and their home
ranges vary from 2.7 to 6.5 km2 (1.0 to 2.5 sq mi), with day ranges 154–2,280 m (0.096–
1.417 mi). Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants. [35] Western
lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than the others and they are more dispersed
across their range.[36] They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at
1,105 m (0.687 mi) per day on average, and have larger home ranges of 7–14 km2 (2.7–
5.4 sq mi).[36] Western lowland gorillas have less access to terrestrial herbs, although
they can access aquatic herbs in some areas. Termites and ants are also eaten.
Gorillas rarely drink water "because they consume succulent vegetation that is
comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew", [37] although both mountain and
lowland gorillas have been observed drinking.
Nesting
See also: Nest-building in primates § In gorillas

Gorilla night nest constructed in a tree

Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations
of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 ft (0.61 to 1.52 m) in diameter and are constructed
by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the
ground. The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age,
initially close to those of their mothers. [38] Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use
of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic. [39] Nest-building by
great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture, but as an important
instance of tool use.[39]
Threats and competition
One possible predator of gorillas is the leopard. Gorilla remains have been found in
leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging. [40] When the group is attacked by
humans, leopards, or other gorillas, an individual silverback will protect the group, even
at the cost of his own life.[41] Gorillas do not appear to directly compete
with chimpanzees in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant gorilla and
chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation. [42] The
two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects. [43][44][45] Gorillas and
chimpanzees usually ignore or avoid each other when feeding on the same tree, [42][46] but
coalitions of chimpanzees have been observed attacking families of gorillas including
silverbacks and killing infants.[47]

Behaviour
Social structure
Silverback with female

Gorillas live in groups called troops. Troops tend to be made of one adult male or
silverback, with a harem of multiple adult females and their offspring. [48][49][50] However,
multiple-male troops also exist.[49] A silverback is typically more than 12 years of age,
and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back, which comes with
maturity. Silverbacks have large canine teeth that also come with maturity. Both males
and females tend to emigrate from their natal groups. For mountain gorillas, females
disperse from their natal troops more than males.[48][51] Mountain gorillas and western
lowland gorillas also commonly transfer to second new groups. [48]
Mature males also tend to leave their groups and establish their own troops by
attracting emigrating females. However, male mountain gorillas sometimes stay in their
natal troops and become subordinate to the silverback. If the silverback dies, these
males may be able to become dominant or mate with the females. This behaviour has
not been observed in eastern lowland gorillas. In a single male group, when the
silverback dies, the females and their offspring disperse and find a new troop. [51]
[52]
 Without a silverback to protect them, the infants will likely fall victim to infanticide.
Joining a new group is likely to be a tactic against this. [51][53] However, while gorilla troops
usually disband after the silverback dies, female eastern lowlands gorillas and their
offspring have been recorded staying together until a new silverback transfers into the
group. This likely serves as protection from leopards. [52]

Silverback gorilla

The silverback is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating
conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites,
and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males
subordinate to the silverback, known as blackbacks, may serve as backup protection.
Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years[50] and lack the silver back hair. The bond
that a silverback has with his females forms the core of gorilla social life. Bonds
between them are maintained by grooming and staying close together. [54] Females form
strong relationships with males to gain mating opportunities and protection from
predators and infanticidal outside males. [55] However, aggressive behaviours between
males and females do occur, but rarely lead to serious injury. Relationships between
females may vary. Maternally related females in a troop tend to be friendly towards
each other and associate closely. Otherwise, females have few friendly encounters and
commonly act aggressively towards each other.[48]
Females may fight for social access to males and a male may intervene. [54] Male gorillas
have weak social bonds, particularly in multiple-male groups with apparent dominance
hierarchies and strong competition for mates. Males in all-male groups, though, tend to
have friendly interactions and socialise through play, grooming, and staying together,
[50]
 and occasionally they even engage in homosexual interactions. [56] Severe aggression
is rare in stable groups, but when two mountain gorilla groups meet the two silverbacks
can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping
injuries.[57]
Reproduction and parenting

Young gorilla riding on mother

Females mature at 10–12 years (earlier in captivity), and males at 11–13 years. A
female's first ovulatory cycle occurs when she is six years of age, and is followed by a
two-year period of adolescent infertility. [58] The estrous cycle lasts 30–33 days, with
outward ovulation signs subtle compared to those of chimpanzees. The gestation period
lasts 8.5 months. Female mountain gorillas first give birth at 10 years of age and have
four-year interbirth intervals.[58] Males can be fertile before reaching adulthood. Gorillas
mate year round.[59]
Females will purse their lips and slowly approach a male while making eye contact. This
serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to
attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground. [60] In multiple-male
groups, solicitation indicates female preference, but females can be forced to mate with
multiple males.[60] Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her
or touching her and giving a "train grunt". [59] Recently, gorillas have been observed
engaging in face-to-face sex, a trait once considered unique to humans and bonobos.[61]
Mother gorilla with 10-day-old infant

Gorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers, their primary caregivers,
are important to their survival.[53] Male gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but
they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. [62] The silverback has a
largely supportive relationship with the infants in his troop and shields them from
aggression within the group.[62] Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first
five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection. [62] Infants suckle at least
once per hour and sleep with their mothers in the same nest. [63]
Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after five months, but only for a brief
period each time. By 12 months old, infants move up to five m (16 ft) from their mothers.
At around 18–21 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and
they regularly spend time away from each other.[64] In addition, nursing decreases to
once every two hours.[63] Infants spend only half of their time with their mothers by 30
months. They enter their juvenile period at their third year, and this lasts until their sixth
year. At this time, gorillas are weaned and they sleep in a separate nest from their
mothers.[62] After their offspring are weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become
pregnant again.[62][63] The presence of play partners, including the silverback, minimizes
conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring. [64]
Communication
"Gorilla communication" redirects here. Not to be confused with Guerrilla
communication.
Twenty-five distinct vocalisations are recognised, many of which are used primarily for
group communication within dense vegetation. Sounds classified as grunts and barks
are heard most frequently while traveling, and indicate the whereabouts of individual
group members.[65] They may also be used during social interactions when discipline is
required. Screams and roars signal alarm or warning, and are produced most often by
silverbacks. Deep, rumbling belches suggest contentment and are heard frequently
during feeding and resting periods. They are the most common form of intragroup
communication.[57]
For this reason, conflicts are most often resolved by displays and other threat
behaviours that are intended to intimidate without becoming physical. As a result, they
do not fight very frequently. The ritualized charge display is unique to gorillas. The entire
sequence has nine steps: (1) progressively quickening hooting, (2) symbolic feeding, (3)
rising bipedally, (4) throwing vegetation, (5) chest-beating with cupped hands, (6) one
leg kick, (7) sideways running, two-legged to four-legged, (8) slapping and tearing
vegetation, and (9) thumping the ground with palms to end display. [66]
A gorilla's chest-beat may vary in frequency depending on its size. Smaller ones tend to
have higher frequencies, while larger ones tend to be lower. They also do it the most
when females are ready to mate.[67]

Intelligence
Further information: Primate cognition
See also: Great ape language

A female gorilla exhibiting tool use by using a tree trunk as a support whilst fishing herbs

Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko,
have been taught a subset of sign language. Like the other great apes, gorillas can
laugh, grieve, have "rich emotional lives", develop strong family bonds, make and use
tools, and think about the past and future. [68] Some researchers believe gorillas have
spiritual feelings or religious sentiments.[12] They have been shown to have cultures in
different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show
individual colour preferences.[12]
Tool use
Further information: Tool use by animals §  Gorillas
The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife
Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in the
wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was
recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A
second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst
fishing in the swamp. This means all of the great apes are now known to use tools.[69]
In September 2005, a two-and-a-half-year-old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was
discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts inside a game sanctuary. [70] While this
was the first such observation for a gorilla, over 40 years previously, chimpanzees had
been seen using tools in the wild 'fishing' for termites. Nonhuman great apes are
endowed with semiprecision grips, and have been able to use both simple tools and
even weapons, such as improvising a club from a convenient fallen branch.

Scientific study
American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage obtained the first
specimens (the skull and other bones) during his time in Liberia.[6] The first scientific
description of gorillas dates back to an article by Savage and the naturalist Jeffries
Wyman in 1847 in Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History,[71]
[72]
 where Troglodytes gorilla is described, now known as the western gorilla. Other
species of gorilla were described in the next few years. [5]

Drawing of French explorer Paul Du Chaillu at close quarters with a gorilla

The explorer Paul Du Chaillu was the first westerner to see a live gorilla during his travel
through western equatorial Africa from 1856 to 1859. He brought dead specimens to the
UK in 1861.[73][74][75]
The first systematic study was not conducted until the 1920s, when Carl Akeley of
the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Africa to hunt for an animal to be
shot and stuffed. On his first trip, he was accompanied by his friends Mary Bradley, a
mystery writer, her husband, and their young daughter Alice, who would later write
science fiction under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr. After their trip, Mary Bradley
wrote On the Gorilla Trail. She later became an advocate for the conservation of
gorillas, and wrote several more books (mainly for children). In the late 1920s and early
1930s, Robert Yerkes and his wife Ava helped further the study of gorillas when they
sent Harold Bigham to Africa. Yerkes also wrote a book in 1929 about the great apes.
After World War II, George Schaller was one of the first researchers to go into the field
and study primates. In 1959, he conducted a systematic study of the mountain gorilla in
the wild and published his work. Years later, at the behest of Louis Leakey and
the National Geographic, Dian Fossey conducted a much longer and more
comprehensive study of the mountain gorilla. When she published her work, many
misconceptions and myths about gorillas were finally disproved, including the myth that
gorillas are violent.
Western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla) are believed to be one of the zoonotic origins
of HIV/AIDS. The SIVgor Simian immunodeficiency virus that infects them is similar to a
certain strain of HIV-1.[76][77][78][79]
Genome sequencing
The gorilla became the next-to-last great ape genus to have its genome sequenced.
The first gorilla genome was generated with short read and Sanger sequencing using
DNA from a female western lowland gorilla named Kamilah. This gave scientists further
insight into the evolution and origin of humans. Despite the chimpanzees being the
closest extant relatives of humans, 15% of the human genome was found to be more
like that of the gorilla.[80] In addition, 30% of the gorilla genome "is closer to human or
chimpanzee than the latter are to each other; this is rarer around coding genes,
indicating pervasive selection throughout great ape evolution, and has functional
consequences in gene expression."[81] Analysis of the gorilla genome has cast doubt on
the idea that the rapid evolution of hearing genes gave rise to language in humans, as it
also occurred in gorillas.[82]

Captivity

Gorilla at zoo

Gorillas became highly prized by western zoos since the 19th century, though the
earliest attempts to keep them in captive facilities ended in their early death. In the late
1920s the care of captive gorillas significantly improved. [83] Colo (December 22, 1956 –
January 17, 2017) of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was the first gorilla to be born in
captivity.[84]
Captive gorillas exhibit stereotypic behaviors, including eating disorders — such as
regurgitation, reingestion and coprophagy — self-injurious or conspecific aggression,
pacing, rocking, sucking of fingers or lip smacking, and overgrooming. [85] Negative
vigilance of visitor behaviors have been identified as starting, posturing and charging at
visitors.[86] Groups of bachelor gorillas containing young silverbacks have significantly
higher levels of aggression and wounding rates than mixed age and sex groups. [87][88]
The use of both internal and external privacy screens on exhibit windows has been
shown to alleviate stresses from visual effects of high crowd densities, leading to
decreased stereotypic behaviors in the gorillas.[86] Playing naturalistic auditory stimuli as
opposed to classical music, rock music, or no auditory enrichment (which allows for
crowd noise, machinery, etc. to be heard) has been noted to reduce stress behavior as
well.[89] Enrichment modifications to feed and foraging, where clover-hay is added to an
exhibit floor, decrease stereotypic activities while simultaneously increasing positive
food-related behaviors.[86]
Recent research on captive gorilla welfare emphasizes a need to shift to individual
assessments instead of a one-size-fits-all group approach to understanding how welfare
increases or decreases based on a variety of factors. [88] Individual characteristics such
as age, sex, personality and individual histories are essential in understanding that
stressors will affect each individual gorilla and their welfare differently.[86][88]

Conservation status

Eastern lowland gorilla in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

All species (and subspecies) of gorilla are listed as endangered or critically

endangered on the IUCN Red List.[90][91] All gorillas are listed in Appendix I of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that
international export/import of the species, including in parts and derivatives, is
regulated.[92] Around 316,000 western lowland gorillas are thought to exist in the wild,
[93]
 4,000 in zoos, thanks to conservation; eastern lowland gorillas have a population of
under 5,000 in the wild and 24 in zoos. Mountain gorillas are the most severely
endangered, with an estimated population of about 880 left in the wild and none in zoos.
[12][90]
 Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and poaching for
the bushmeat trade. Gorillas are closely related to humans, and are susceptible to
diseases that humans also get infected by. In 2004, a population of several hundred
gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by
the Ebola virus.[94] A 2006 study published in Science concluded more than 5,000 gorillas
may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The researchers
indicated in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates "a
recipe for rapid ecological extinction".[95] In captivity, its also been observed that gorillas
can also be infected with COVID-19.[96]
Conservation efforts include the Great Apes Survival Project, a partnership between
the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNESCO, and also an
international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats,
concluded under UNEP-administered Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilla
Agreement is the first legally binding instrument exclusively targeting gorilla
conservation; it came into effect on 1 June 2008. Governments of countries where
gorillas live placed a ban on their killing and trading, but weak law enforcement still
poses a threat to them, since the governments rarely apprehend poachers, traders and
consumers that rely on gorillas for profit. [97]

Cultural significance
Further information: Gorillas in popular culture

Drawing of a gorilla who has killed a hunter and destroyed his shotgun, as narrated by Paul Du Chaillu, 1861

In Cameroon's Lebialem highlands, folk stories connect people and gorillas via totems;

a gorilla's death means the connected person will die also. This creates a local
conservation ethic.[98] Many different indigenous peoples interact with wild gorillas.
[98]
 Some have detailed knowledge; the Baka have words to distinguish at least ten types
of gorilla individuals, by sex, age, and relationships. [98] In 1861, alongside tales of hunting
enormous gorillas, the traveller and anthropologist Paul Du Chaillu reported the
Cameroonian story that a pregnant woman who sees a gorilla will give birth to one. [98][99]
In 1911, the anthropologist Albert Jenks noted the Bulu people's knowledge of gorilla
behaviour and ecology, and their gorilla stories. In one such story, "The Gorilla and the
Child", a gorilla speaks to people, seeking help and trust, and stealing a baby; a man
accidentally kills the baby while attacking the gorilla. [98] Even far from where gorillas live,
savannah tribes pursue "cult-like worship" of the apes. [98][100] Some beliefs are widespread
among indigenous peoples. The Fang name for gorilla is ngi while the Bulu name
is njamong; the root ngi means fire, denoting a positive energy. From the Central
African Republic to Cameroon and Gabon, stories of reincarnations as gorillas, totems,
and transformations similar to those recorded by Du Chaillu are still told in the 21st
century.[98]
Since gaining international attention, gorillas have been a recurring element of many
aspects of popular culture and media. [101] They were usually portrayed as murderous and
aggressive. Inspired by Emmanuel Frémiet's Gorilla Carrying off a Woman, gorillas
have been depicted kidnapping human women. [102] This theme was used in films such
as Ingagi (1930) and most notably King Kong (1933).[103] The comedic play The Gorilla,
which debuted in 1925, featured an escaped gorilla taking a woman from her house.
[104]
 Several films would use the "escaped gorilla" trope including The Strange Case of
Doctor Rx (1942), The Gorilla Man (1943), Gorilla at Large (1954) and
the Disney cartoons The Gorilla Mystery (1930) and Donald Duck and the
Gorilla (1944).[105]
Gorillas have been used as opponents to jungle-themed heroes such
as Tarzan and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle,[106] as well as superheroes. The DC
comics supervillain Gorilla Grodd is an enemy of the Flash.[107] Gorillas also serve as
antagonists in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes.[108] More positive and sympathetic
portrayals of gorillas include the films Son of Kong (1933), Mighty Joe
Young (1949), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Instinct (1999) and the 1992
novel Ishmael.[109] Gorillas have been featured in video games as well, notably Donkey
Kong.[107]