Photos of a male lion at a Chinese zoo sporting straight bangs went viral online, leaving many wondering how the staff managed to pull off the haircut, yet they claim they didn’t… leaving this mystery unsolved. Maybe the lion did it all by itself?
The lion’s mane is the most recognizable feature of the species, and even though its size and color vary by a variety of factors, both genetic and environmental, we can say that it never has that tidy “salon” look. But there are exceptions, like this specimen at a zoo in Guangzhou, China, which recently went viral for sporting an impeccable mane that seemed styled after the straight bangs we see human women sometimes choose to have. The unique look has sparked some controversy online, with many accusing the zoo staff of cutting the animal’s hair for no good reason at all, a claim that the zoo has repeatedly denied.
Just look at that thing. It looks like someone tried to give that majestic lion Joe Exotic’s iconic haircut. It’s hard to believe that hairdo isn’t the work of humans, but the staff at Guangzhou Zoo insists that they did not go near the lion with shears. Cutting the lion’s mane is too dangerous, according to an official statement, which mentioned that the look of the lion’s mane might be influenced by the humidity in Guangzhou.
Few have taken the zoo’s statement seriously, and several social media users even accused the staff of lying, claiming that when they last visited the place a couple of months ago the lion had a normal mane, and now it looks like it’s been to a hair salon. What do you think? Is there any truth to zoo staff’s claims or you believe that they simply cut lion’s mane as some kind of weird prank? Let us know in the comments below!
The lion did it all by itself. It wanted to become an edgy hipster lion!
The lioness doesn’t seem impressed.
I can’t stop laughing at this. They gave him a Beatles haircut.
Rod Stewart
This mane has been washed, brushed and cut if not blow dried too. Don’t ask me how they did it tho..
His wife sitting there smirking did it when he was sleeping after a night out. The Zoo keepers took away her Sharpie but didn’t find the scissors.
Definitely they did did this to the lin. That doesn’t just happen. Leave the poor lion alone.
Kinda looks like David Bowie in The Labyrinth.
Poor lion…..someone did this
Poor guy looks so sad. Guess he’s not feeling so kingly after what the zookeepers did to him. I feel sorry for the big fella.
his eyes aren’t visible in any of the shots. maybe he has a problem with them (is he blind?) and the keepers wanted a cut that was a a little easier to deal with while caring for the eyes. i’m thinking we don’t really have all the information here
Another note on this: it’s common to shave thr eyebrows off captive American Bison so flies do not lay eggs on the eyebrows. If the flies were to do so, the eggs would hatch and the young maggots would go straight for the bisons’ eyes, and blind the bison. I’ll spare everyone the gory details. Suffice it to say, I think Anonymous is right, we do not have all the details. This may have been neccessary for the poor lion.
Would the lion be better off in nature? Probably not. A lion is a huge investment, so I would think the Chinese would treat it well, if only so they do not have to shell out for a replacement.
animal cruelty