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A lion residing at the Guangzhou Zoo went viral recently for sporting a strange hairstyle.

On May 28, a visitor to the Guangzhou zoo shared her pictures of the lion on her Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) page.

Bad mane day?

The lion's mane appeared to have taken on the shape of a choppy fringe over its forehead.

The user shared more pictures of this bizarre "lion cut".

One netizen remarked that the fringe does not do any favours for the lion as it does not help maintain its majestic image.

It does look quite familiar...

According to a netizen who claimed to have seen the lion less than a week ago, the lion did not have a fringe then.

The user who posted the pictures speculated that the zookeepers were the ones who gave him the strange hairstyle.

One netizen questioned if the lion was very docile or if the zookeepers felt particularly gutsy for this alleged haircut to be done.

She added that cutting alone is not sufficient to achieve this look, which would need a combination of washing, cutting, and blowdrying to have this effect.

In response to queries by a Guangdong media outlet, an employee at the zoo clarified that the zookeepers would never dare to give the lion a haircut and this hairstyle is due to the humidity in Guangzhou.

She elaborated that the lion grooms itself how a cat does — by licking its paws and pawing its fur.

As a result, the appearance of the lion's mane might undergo small changes at times, she added.

For your reference, here's what a lion's mane typically looks like:

Top images by 我跑不动了 on Little Red Book.