Photos of a male lion named Hang Hang sporting baby bangs have gone viral online, leaving many wondering how the zoo staff managed to pull off that kind of haircut on a wild animal. The staff says they didn’t. They say the lion’s mane is natural and that no one cut his hair. Although lions can vary in size and color by a variety of factors, both genetic and environmental, they almost never have such a tidy “salon” look. There are, however, exceptions like this specimen at the Guangzhou Zoo in China. It’s hard to believe that the hairdo isn’t the work of humans, but the zoo staff insists that cutting a lion’s mane would be too dangerous, even for the best-trained handlers. They say that the animal’s hair might be influenced by the humidity in Guangzhou. This year has been one of China’s hottest, experts have said, as temperatures have reached an average of nearly 90ยบ, which is nearly unheard of in the month of May.
