Okinawa Zoo & Museum conducted an election among its visitors to choose the favorite among its animals in 2017, and the Zoo’s white male lion named “Serum” was voted for the favorite with 212 votes out of a total of 1,466.

Serum is a gift from Tohoku Safari Park in Fukushima Prefecture, and arrived at Okinawa Zoo at the end of March. He made a strong impression on the visitors before celebrating his first birthday in November.

Fukuda, a Tsushima leopard, was voted for the 2nd place with 185 votes, and Arusha, a lion, was the 3rd with 167 votes. Kozue Ogimi, the manager of the Zoo Section of Okinawa Kodomo-no Kuni Park, said, “The popularity of big cats has been booming recently in Japan, and the trend seems to continue in Okinawa.”

The voting was conducted from 4 through 24 September at the zoo, where visitors could post their votes in a ballot box, or cast their votes on the Zoo website.

Among other residents of the zoo, Rubi, a baby Indian elephant was voted for the 4th most popular with 145 votes, and Wabisuke, a giraffe, was the 5th with 124 votes.

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