The Western gorilla is a large ape that inhabits lowland and moist forests in Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Diurnal, it makes nests in trees and on the ground to sleep, and groups are polygynous with a mature silverback male leading them. Its diet prefers fruit but switches to herbs and bark, coexisting with chimpanzees through a different foraging strategy. Display behaviors such as chest beating drumming are observed, and it is classified as Critically Endangered (IUCN Category I A) due to poaching, habitat loss, and disease.