A zoo in southern China sparked criticism against authorities for botching a lion’s mane.
Chinese zookeepers have denied giving a lion a fringe
Zookeepers at the Guangzhou Zoo denied giving the big cat a haircut after it was spotted with a fringe at the weekend.
The lion named Hang was first brought into the enclosure back in 2015 from Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.
According to an employee, the male lion's mane has been left to grow naturally, but the new style can be explained by the heat and humidity rather than a scissor-friendly zoo keeper.
Speaking to ‘Global Times,’ the zoo said: “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.
“He looked like a blonde supermodel with fringe because of the high humidity in Guangzhou,”
The authorities had claimed the mullet was down to the majestic animal grooming itself, which led to the flattened look as employees would have been too scared to get up close to cut its hair.