They weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Females are smaller, standing up to five feet tall and averaging about 200 pounds. Zoo animals are often heavier. Western lowland gorillas live in lowland tropical forests in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Gorillas live in moist tropical forests, often in secondary, or re-growing, forests or along forest edges, where clearings provide an abundance of low, edible vegetation.
Mountain gorillas range up into cloud forest.
Gorillas feed on leaves and stems, and in areas where they are available, forest fruits supplement their diet. In some areas, they raid farms, eating and trampling crops. They also will eat rotten wood and small animals. Female gorillas reach maturity at seven or eight years old, but they usually don't breed until ten years or older. Due to competition between males for access to females, few wild males breed before they reach 15 years old.