Buck, an altered Gorilla.
Gorilla in real life
The Gorilla is one of the species of apes in the Planet of the Apes franchise. There are two distinct species of gorilla, the Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and Eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei) which are both native to Central Africa, as are chimpanzees and bonobos. In the original Planet of the Apes series, the gorillas served as the military, hunters, police and labourers of the ape society, although in the original source novel the ape president was also a gorilla. In reality, gorillas are much more passive and sedate apes than the more aggressive and unpredictable chimpanzees. There are over 100,000 gorillas in the jungles of Africa.
The gorillas in the Chernin Entertainment film reboot series typically serve as Caesar's "muscle" in the Ape Army, as seen when Buck became his personal bodyguard. Caesar maximizes the gorillas' skills by having them use their incredible brute strength and imposing size, which were both essential during the Ape Rebellion. Prior to the destruction of the Ape Village, the gorillas, led by Luca, served as the village guardians. It is unknown if the gorillas have the same intelligence as the rest of the apes, but they show signs of understanding what the other apes say and mean, and Buck demonstrated the green eyes of an evolved ape before his death.
