Japanese People Are Going Bananas Over This Extremely Photogenic Gorilla

Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

What's happening in Asian America? Get a daily email to stay informed, educated, and entertained.

Many netizens from Japan have had their hearts stolen by the extremely photogenic silverback western lowland gorilla, Shabani, from Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan, with some even calling him Ikemen, or “handsome guy.”

There’s just something about the way he stares into the distance that’s so…alluring.

Shabani first became internet famous in early 2015 after many visitors of the zoo began posting pictures of him on social media. Since then, both Japanese and western media has picked up his story and posted many pictures of him, admiring his “handsome” look and his “thinking deep thoughts” pose, BBC reported.

According to the report, Shabani was born in Belgium in 1997. He was bred in Australia years later and was sent to Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya in 2007 as a gift.

Western lowland gorillas are native to central Africa and considered as a critically-endangered species. They are often being hunted by poachers to sell their meat or skin.

There are people who even compared Shabani to many male celebrities who have brooding good looks. One comparison in particular that is oddly shared across social media is American celebrity George Clooney.

That handsome gorilla does look eerily similar to handsome George Clooney.#HigashiyamaZoo pic.twitter.com/M7OMVYrfHP
— Kate ChristmasHam (@KateLCunningham) June 26, 2015

However, not everyone agrees that Shabani’s look resembles that of Clooney. One Twitter user suggested he looks more like the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs – probably due to his “holding the chin” pose.

@KateLCunningham I don’t know. Now I’m thinking it’s more of a Steve Jobs look. #fb #apple #handsomegorilla pic.twitter.com/V0cxf6gonG
— Phil Scroggs (@phillustrations) June 28, 2015

Regardless of who he looks like, Shabani is a celebrity in his own right.

When he is not posing for the photographers, Shabani can be seen posing for several other product advertisements across Japan. It turns out that not only he is a superstar at the zoo, but he is also a model for the Nagoya-based department store Parco.