The heaviest silverback recorded was a 267 kg (589 lb) 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) tall specimen shot in Ambam, Cameroon. There is an unconfirmed record of another individual, shot in 1932, that was 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) and weighed 218.6 kg (482 lb). The tallest silverback recorded was 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) tall with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), a chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo, northern Kivu in May 1938. Fully erect males can reach 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) in height, with an arm span of 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) and weigh 155 kg (342 lb). The hair on their backs is shorter than on most other body parts, and their arm hair is especially long. Adult males are called silverbacks because a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their backs with age. Like all gorillas, they feature dark brown eyes framed by a black ring around the iris. Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced. These crests anchor the powerful temporalis muscles, which attach to the lower jaw (mandible). Adult males have more pronounced bony crests on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical shape. Females are smaller with a weight of 70–98 kg (154–216 lb).This subspecies is smaller than the eastern lowland gorilla, the other subspecies of eastern gorilla.

Gorillas can be identified by nose prints unique to each individual The fur of the mountain gorilla, often thicker and longer than that of other gorilla species, enables them to live in colder temperatures.

Silverback wolf habitat