Shabani now lives in Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens
in Nagoya, and has attracted a large following of admirers who visit him
because he is so 'handsome'.
The western lowland gorilla was raised at Sydney's Taronga
Zoo but moved to Japan in 2007.
Zoo officials said there has been a notable increase in
young female visitors thanks to Shabani.
His rise to fame has been fueled largely by Twitter, where
fans post pictures of him claiming he is 'too handsome'.
His adoring Twitter following often refers to him as an
'ikemen', which means a 'good-looking man'.
Taronga Zoo’s Senior Zookeeper, Allan Schmidt said “Shabani
was moved to Australia from The Netherlands as a two-month-old in December 1996
with his family.”
When asked if he was surprised by Shabani's popularity he
said, “No because the Japanese are crazy... The Japanese love their fads.”
He added, “I would say most people would consider him
fairly dashing.”
Schmidt said this is not the first time 18-year-old Shabani
has enjoyed viral internet fame.
After moving to Nagoya, he was pictured in 2007 walking
along a tightrope in the zoo enclosure.
“He's used to the limelight. He was born in The Netherlands
and moved to Australia as a baby, where he grew up with a very stable father
and mother”, he said.
“It's not surprising he's very successful, he was moved to
Japan to mate with three female gorillas, where he has had two healthy male
offspring.
Shabani has lived at the Japanese zoo since 2007, but has
only recently become so popular, Rocket News 24 reported.
Pictures of the gorilla posted online capture him in
moments where he appears to be flexing his muscles, staring broodingly into the
distance or playing with the younger gorillas.
Comments posted online describe him as 'hot' and 'too
handsome'.
“I went to Higashiyama Zoo. This hot Shabani ikemen was
certainly handsome,” one woman wrote.
Another posted photos with the caption: “Shabani who is in
Higashiyama Zoo is famous as the too handsome gorilla!”
Meanwhile another visitor posted a picture at the zoo with
friends with the caption: Went to see the handsome gorilla Shabani... it was a
fun holiday.”
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