China: Lion goes viral for unique hairstyle; authorities say 'he designed it himself'

There's no denying the fact that social media is flooded with entertaining photos and videos of animals that can engage users for hours. On Thursday, the entertaining moments featured the inclusion of a picture of a lion from a zoo in China. A picture of the lion's unusual mane has taken social media by storm, thanks to the visitor who captured the picture of the big cat and posted it on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. 

In the viral photo, the lion can be seen moving around with a lioness in the Guangzhou Zoo. What is amusing in the picture is the lion's stylish fringes, which have left many wondering who dared to give a haircut to the beast.

China: Lion in a zoo goes viral for unique mane | See

As the picture went viral on social media, soon questions started coming in as to what had happened to his mane. Later, the zoo officials said that the unique appearance of the lion was due to the humidity in Guangzhou province and that the lion had been given a haircut. Since the picture went on social media, some users criticised the zoo authorities for changing the exotic look of the lion. Some expressed wonder over the unusual hairstyle, while some compared the lion's mullet-style hair to celebrities like Bruce Lee and Anderson .Paak. Some users found the hairstyle cute, some found it funny.

One user took to social media and posted the photo of the lion and wrote "So cute. Happy Children's Day!" Another user's comment read, "When you let your wife cut your hair." A third user said, "This cat's a huge Paddy Pimblett fan".

According to the media reports, the lion's name is Hang, and he was brought to the zoo in 2015 from Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. A zoo official revealed that there was no hairdressing programme at the zoo and Hang's hair was drooping because of the high humidity. The zoo authorities also claimed that the lion probably groomed itself by licking its paws and then pawing its fur, which may have led to the straightening of the hair. They confirmed that zoo authorities did not cut its mane as they were afraid of being attacked.