Description
Shabani (born 20 October 1996) is a male western lowland gorilla, born at the Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands, raised in Australia and currently residing at the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan. He gained publicity in 2007 at Higashiyama Zoo when he was 10 years old by tightrope walking.
Shabani was the subject of further media attention from 2015, described as "handsome", "sexy", "photogenic", and "metrosexual". This led to significant news coverage, and an appearance on the season 2 premiere of the TV series Not Safe with Nikki Glaser.
The coverage caused an increase in younger female visitors to his zoo. Shabani was also the subject of a DVD film, and became the mascot for a brand of candy. He was also used in a worker recruitment campaign by the city of Nagoya in January 2016.
