Shabani (gorilla)

Shabani is a male western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) born on 20 October 1996 at Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands. His mother is Mouila, and his father is Kibabu. Mouila was born in Cameroon to wild parents. Her birth year is recorded as 1972;^[14] although her capture date is unknown she arrived at Apenheul on November 22, 1974. Kibabu was born at Howletts Wild Animal Park on 25 May 1977. Kibabu's parents were Baby Doll and Kisoro. Kibabu was transferred from Howletts to Apenheul on 5 August 1987. Shabani was transferred to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia along with the rest of his family on 6 December 1996, when he was almost seven weeks old. Shabani has four other full siblings.

• Bauwi, male, born on 10 July 1990. He was given euthanasia due to rapidly deteriorating health on 13 May 2023 at Burgers' Zoo and Safaripark, Arnhem, Netherlands.
• Haoko, male, born on 21 August 1993, currently living at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan.
• M'Beli, female, born on 5 February 2003, currently living at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.
• Mahali, male, born on 18 August 2008. He died on 14 May 2021 at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Kibabu fathered 18 children.^[15]

On 27 June 2007, Shabani and his brother Haoko were transferred to Japan as part of a coordinated breeding programme to ensure genetic diversity.^[16] While Shabani was transferred to Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, Haoko was sent to Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo. Shabani was almost 11 years old and was still considered a "blackback". Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years and lack silver back hair.^[17]

Higashiyama Zoo had three adult female gorillas with no male gorilla. The previous silverback, Rikki, had died in 2003. The female gorillas at Higashiyama Zoo were:

• Oki (born ~ 1956 in the wild, died on 30 December 2010): Oki was around 53 years old when Shabani arrived and died 3 years later. They did not have offspring.
• Nene (born ~ 1972 in Cameroon): Nene had one child, Ai, by Rikki.
• Ai (born 27 February 2003)

The first female to get pregnant by Shabani was Ai, who was nine years old at the time. She gave birth on 15 March 2012, but the baby died soon after.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 November 2012, Nene gave birth to a healthy male. Following a request for suggestions for a name from the public, he was named Kiyomasa,^[18] after Katō Kiyomasa, a Japanese feudal lord of the late 16th century.

Ai became pregnant for a second time, and gave birth to a female infant on 2 June 2013. She was named Annie by combining the names "Ai" and "Shabani".^{[citation needed]} Ai failed to properly take care of Annie and she was taken from the troop to be raised by the zoo staff.

On 31 March 2014, Annie was moved from the nursery to a room next to the gorilla house, where she could see, smell and hear the other gorillas. There were bars between the rooms that allowed for close contact; Shabani and Kiyomasa spent the most time interacting with Annie.^[19]

Zoo staff next opened a small door so that only Kiyomasa could enter Annie's room to play with her. Shabani spent hours at the little door looking into Annie's room.^[20] On 2 May 2014, Ai and Annie were reunited in a room by themselves, which had a small door for Annie to pass through to and from her private room.^[21] Ai and Annie were allowed to bond alone until 20 October 2014, when Shabani was moved in.^[22] The whole troop was finally reunited on 10 November 2014.

Shabani is thought to be particularly sensitive. When he first arrived in Nagoya the stress of the move and the experience of being among unfamiliar gorillas led him to acquire the nickname "tyrant" among the zoo staff. However, after Kiyomasa and Annie were born he was renamed "ruler of virtue".^[23]

When Shabani started attracting larger crowds of female fans he withdrew from the outside and started spending more time indoors. The zoo then put up signs asking visitors to refrain from yelling "Shabani", which was making him uncomfortable.^[24]

Shabani's favorite food is eggplant.^[25]

According to zoo spokesperson Takayuki Ishikawa, Shabani's paternal behaviour is among the characteristics that make him attractive to women: "He's a father and he always protects and looks over his children. Zoo-goers think his kindness is attractive too".^[26]

Shabani exhibited protective behaviour towards Annie from her birth, even though Annie was raised by human caretakers. Yasushi Shibuya, a spokesperson for Higashiyama Zoo, said that when Annie began living together with the rest of the troop, there was a period where Nene would attack Annie. Shibuya speculated that this Nene perceived Annie as a threat to her son Kiyomasa, who was seven months older.^[27] In response, Shabani rushed into the room quickly to protect Annie as soon as he heard her screaming.^[28]

In 2007, when Shabani was 10 years old, he received initial media attention for tightrope walking. According to Hiroshi Kobayashi, head of Higashiyama Zoo, the ropes were installed for the gorillas to hang from them. However, Shabani started using them for balancing and walking.^[29]

On 15 August 2010, one of Shabani's keepers placed a couple of banana pieces high on the wall of the outdoor enclosure to see how high Shabani would jump to get it. Shabani was 13 years old at the time and weighed 418 lb (190 kg). Photos of the jump were taken and the height measured afterwards. The jump on this day was measured at 2 ft 7.5 in (80 cm).^[30] On 27 September 2015, a video was posted on YouTube showing Shabani making another high jump to reach leaves on the wall.^[31]