# What Do Mountain Gorillas Eat?

> Mountain gorillas are folivores in Virunga and Bwindi — leaves, pith and bamboo, not a western-gorilla fruit menu. Never feed them.

- **Species:** Mountain Gorilla (*Gorilla beringei beringei*)
- **Conservation status:** Endangered
- **Diet:** Herbivore — leaves, shoots, stems, fruit, and bark
- **Habitat:** Montane and bamboo cloud forests at 2,200–4,300 m elevation
- **Lifespan:** 35–40 years in the wild
- **Top speed:** Knuckle-walking; powerful but not built for sprinting
- **Canonical HTML:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/mountain-gorilla/what-do-mountain-gorilla-eat/
- **Parent profile:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/mountain-gorilla/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Quick answer

The mountain gorilla is a subspecies of eastern gorilla living in the cloud forests of the Virunga volcanoes and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, with fewer than 1,100 individuals remaining. Adult silverback males weigh 140–220 kg (310–485 lb), live in stable family groups, and are listed Endangered despite decades of conservation success.

## Who should skip this page

Skip this if you need a captive feeding plan from a veterinarian. This page is wild diet, not a pet-care sheet.

## Silverback society

Each group centres on a dominant silverback male who leads, protects, and mediates disputes among females and younger males. Groups typically contain 5–30 individuals with strong bonds — grooming, play, and vocalisations maintain cohesion in dense forest where visibility is limited.

## Help protect the Mountain Gorilla

Fewer than 1,100 mountain gorillas remain, threatened by poaching snares, disease, and civil unrest in central Africa.

[Donate via East Africa programmes](https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/where-we-work/)

---
Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/mountain-gorilla/what-do-mountain-gorilla-eat/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.