The great apes are more diverse – and more threatened – than many of us ever expected. We recognize 14 kinds of great ape: four subspecies of gorillas, four chimpanzee subspecies and the singular bonobo, all found in Africa, plus five kinds of orangutans known from tropical Asia. Altogether the gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobo occur in 21 African nations; of the orangutans, two species occur in northernmost Sumatra, and the other (divided into three subspecies) survives on the island of Borneo.

Along with all other primates, the great apes are included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a comprehensive survey of threats to our world’s biodiversity. The Red List provides conservation assessments for a tremendous array of threatened species – and it shows that the great apes are in near-universal decline. Cross River gorillas, western lowland gorillas, western chimpanzees, and all orangutans are listed as Critically Endangered. Only the mountain gorillas are not declining in number.

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African Great Apes
Family Hominidae

Asian Great Apes
Family Pongidae

Note:
These tables were compiled by Anthony Rylands, whose original summary included additional comments on great ape taxonomy.