Despite the bad press they have received thanks to movie stars like King Kong, field studies conducted by scientists like George Schaller, Jordi Sabater Pi or the so-called "ape ladies" (Jane Goodall, Biruté Galdikas and Dian Fossey) show that gorillas are actually shy and peaceful animals, and that they share 97.7% of their DNA with humans.

Gorillas only live in the African Equatorial strip. There are two different species of gorillas and a total of five subspecies:

The Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla): This species lives in the western regions of the equatorial forest in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. It is divided into two subspecies:

- The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Snowflake and most other gorillas living in zoos belong to this subspecies.

- The Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)

The Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei): This species lives further east, in the mountainous areas of eastern Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and in the border regions of Lake Kivu and the Virunga volcanoes. It is divided into three subspecies:

- The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)

- The Bwindi Forest Gorilla (scientific name still pending)

- The Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri)

Gorillas live in stable groups of 5 to 10 individuals with one or two dominant males who lead and protect the females and their babies. When the babies grow up, they abandon the paternal group. Males form their own groups and females join others.

Gorillas are peaceful animals. Unlike other animals, they do not defend their territory, and it is even possible to find multiple groups of gorillas living in a single area.

They are herbivores, and, since they never fully exhaust any feeding point, they spend a large portion of their time traveling to look for food. An adult male gorilla can eat up to 30 kg of plants a day.

Like humans, gorillas do not have a specific mating season. Females bear a single child after a nine-month gestation period. The infant mortality rate for gorillas is very high: almost 50%. Incest is taboo for gorillas, and they have built-in biological control systems: gorillas that have grown up together and stayed in contact throughout their childhood and adolescence will not mate as adults.

PHISYCAL DATA

Adult Male Gorilla

Height: 1.40-1.80 m (standing)

Weight: 160-210 kg

Lifespan: around 35 years in the wild, 40-45 years in captivity

Back: silvery gray in color

Adult Female Gorilla

Height: 1.30-1.50 m (standing)

Weight: 64-114 kg

Lifespan: around 35 years in the wild, 40-45 years in captivity