Gorillas & Gorilla Trekking in Africa

Until recently it was considered that there was only one species of gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), divided into three subspecies that live in different parts of Africa, the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Graueri) and the mountain gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Beringei). However, recent DNA evidence has led to the recognition of the eastern and western populations as separate full species classified as Gorilla beringei and Gorilla gorilla respectively.

The two mountain populations, one in the Virunga Volcanoes area on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and the other in the Bwindi National Park in Uganda, belong to the Eastern group which changes their classification to Gorilla Beringei Beringei.

Mountain Gorillas | Western Lowland Gorillas | Eastern Lowland Gorillas