Shabani the gorilla has a real animal magnetism. He’s been drawing large crowds of women to the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan. Female visitors describe him as dark and brooding. They even humanize the sexy beast by calling him “ikemen,” which means good-looking man. Shabani just can’t take a bad picture. He modeled for the zoo during the spring festival.
“He often rests his chin on his hands and looks intently at you,” said Higashiyama Zoo spokesman Takayuki Ishikawa. “He’s more buff than most gorillas and he’s at his peak physically. We’ve seen a rise in the number of female visitors. Women say he’s very good-looking.”
Shabani arrived at the zoo in 2007 but he only became popular with the ladies recently. The 18-year-old western lowland gorilla has fathered two children whom he watches over closely. The women say they love the active fathers or “ikumen.” Cougars are especially smitten with the gorilla whose mate is 24 years his senior.
