Gorilla , largest, rarest, and most powerful anthropoid ape. Gorillas inhabit the forests of equatorial Africa from the western lowlands near the Cameroon coast to an altitude of about 3000 m (about 10,000 ft) in the central highlands of Zaire and Uganda. Three geographically distinct types are recognized: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla, and the more densely coated mountain gorilla .