Western Lowland Gorilla

The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is the most numerous and widespread of the four gorilla subspecies, living in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, swamp forests, and forest edges of west-central Africa. Adult males, known as silverbacks, can weigh over 400 pounds and lead cohesive social groups that typically range from five to thirty individuals. As prolific consumers of fruit, they disperse seeds across large territories, making them a keystone species for forest regeneration across their range.

The subspecies is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with population estimates complicated by the remoteness of much of its habitat. The primary drivers of decline are habitat loss from logging and agricultural expansion, commercial bushmeat hunting, and disease, particularly Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which has killed an estimated one-third of the wild population in affected areas according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Infant gorillas are also captured for illegal trade, a pressure that removes not just individuals but future breeding adults from already fragmented populations.