Wolf in Shakira’s clothing

Judging from the way she moves, you wouldn’t think Shakira is inhibited at all.

But the hip-swiveling singer says she’s just now starting to get in touch with her desires as a woman, and that’s reflected in her animalistic new song, “She Wolf.”

“I think ‘She Wolf’ has a lot to do with the moment in which I feel I am,” she says. “I feel much freer now as a woman, a little more in touch with my own desires, and I tend to listen to myself a little more.”

The bilingual Colombian singer is known for smash hits like “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever.” “She Wolf” is also the title of her upcoming album, due in October.

The music video finds her dancing in a cage and howling and panting like – just as the song says – a wolf.

Shakira says “She Wolf” is an alter ego.

“(It’s) like a more animalistic side of you, a more primitive side … an animal person in a way,” she says. “So when you understand these things you forgive yourself every time you screw up, you say, ‘It wasn’t me, that was the she wolf … that was the animal in me, that wasn’t me, I have nothing to do with that.’ ”

The 32-year-old says her newfound freedom has her exploring new things outside of music – like motherhood.

“I really want to reproduce, I am so ready. I really would like to have a big belly, to walk around with my big belly,” she says, laughing.

However, she adds: “I can’t bring a little wolf right now to the world in the middle of so many projects. Maybe next year after the tour, who knows?”

The birthday bunch

Singer Kay Starr is 87. Director Norman Jewison is 83. Actor Edward Herrmann (“Gilmore Girls”) is 66. Singer Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) is 61. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau (“Doonesbury”) is 61. Comedian Robin Williams is 58. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 52. Actor Josh Hartnett is 31. Reggae singer Damian Marley is 31. Singer Blake Lewis (“American Idol”) is 28. Actress Vanessa Lengies (“American Dreams”) is 24.