What is making women in Japan go crazy?

Ever wondered if beauty can translate across species? Whether we as a human race can really appreciate beauty that transcends our own homosapien breed, well this surprising news from Japan might just be proof that we can, albeit rather disturbingly.

Weighing at a whopping 28 stones or 180kg, with his muscular physique and brooding good looks Shabani has certainly been getting the women in Japan hot under the collar, which has seen more and more women heading to the Higashiyma Zoo which could only translate financially into profit; but Shabani is not a handsome visitor nor does he work at the zoo, in fact he is not even human. Shabani is Nagoya’s Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens star attraction, an 18 year old giant silverback gorilla.

Although he has been stationed at the zoo since 2007, which is just three hours’ drive from Tokyo, it wasn’t until earlier this year when Shabani was chosen to be the zoo’s spring festivals model that his popularity sky rocketed amongst women visitors in particular.

One of the zoo spokesman’s Takayuki Ishikawa, speaking on why Shabani has been such a big hit with the ladies says “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.” Ishikawa then goes on to say that he stares deeply at the zoo goers whilst resting his chin on his hands and that he will look people dead in the eye whilst they are taking photos as if to say he is posing like a male model but reasons that “He’s the head of a group of five gorillas so it’s likely he’s just watching out for them and keeping an eye on you.”

But the “hunky pin-up” silverback’s looks are not the only reason why Shabani is so popular amongst women, his fatherly instincts are also a reason why the ape is a big hit Ishikawa states the visitors are attracted to his kindness and protectiveness over his children “He’s a father and he always protects and looks over his children.”

Shabani has become something of a national celebrity without even knowing it with women taking to social media outlets such a Twitter to broadcast their admiration of Shabani and his good looks comparing him to a model and even labelling him as “ikemen” which translates as ‘hot guy’, he has also been featured in shows on Japanese broadcasters NTV and NHK.

A story reported by the BBC.