(Gorilla gorilla gorilla) – Gorillas are the largest of the primates. Males can weigh as much as 600 pounds; females are much smaller. Gorillas live in harems of one adult male and a small group of females with their young. They eat a strictly vegetarian diet of leaves and stems of herbs, shrubs and vines. Western lowland gorillas are native to Central Africa, living in family groups of five to 30 members. Gorillas are critically endangered due to deforestation and hunting. Conservationists project that gorillas may be extinct by the middle of this century.

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