A lion’s new hairstyle in southern China’s Guangzhou Zoo has sparked criticism against authorities for “botching” the animal’s exotic look.
Zookeepers have been accused of giving the white lion a haircut after the beast was spotted with a fringe at the weekend. However, authorities claimed that the lion’s new hairstyle was due to heat and humidity, and not because they took the scissors to the animal’s mane.
The male lion, named A Hang, was brought to the zoo in 2015 from Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.
A zoo employee said A Hang’s hair grows naturally, and its hair was drooping because of high humidity in Guangzhou.
“There is no hairdressing programme at the zoo, and we dare not cut a lion’s hair. You can say that he has ‘designed’ the hairstyle himself,” they told Chinese state media Global Times.
“He looked like a blonde supermodel with fringe because of the high humidity in Guangzhou,” authorities told Viral Press.
They claimed that the lion probably groomed itself by licking its paws and then pawing its fur, which may have led to the straightened look amid high temperatures. They added that zoo employees did not cut its mane as they were afraid.
A user on Chinese social media site Xiaohongshu alleged that they had seen the animal less than a week ago, and it did not have a fringe then.
Images of the lion’s mullet-style fringe went viral on social media after a user shared them on Sunday following their visit to the zoo.
Many soon compared the hairstyle to those of Bruce Lee, American reality star Joe Exotic and English singer Paul Weller.
“He listens to Paul Weller,” wrote one Twitter user.
