Scientists left baffled after 18-year-old female lion grows a mane

Every now and then a story from the natural world comes along and leaves people completely baffled – and this is one such instance.

Scientists were left scratching their heads after a lioness suddenly developed a mane at the age of 18.

The lioness in question was known as Zuri, who lived at Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center in Kansas.

Sadly, Zuri is no longer with us having died at the age of 19. However, the last few years of her life were very surprising indeed.

Zuri’s life was spent in the conservation centre with two female lionesses and one male lion. However, the passing of male lion Avus sparked an unexpected change.

WIBW 13 News/YouTube

When Avus died in October 2020, to the surprise of the zookeepers, Zuri began developing a mane at the advanced age of 18.

This behaviour, obviously, is normally only reserved to male lions.

It’s an incredibly rare event, with only a handful of lionesses observed growing manes in captivity – and it may have been due to her advanced age.

Lions living to 16 is considered a long life span for the animal, and given that Zuri was 18, the mane growth could have taken place as a result of hormonal shifts in old age as Zuri had no underlying health conditions.

Zuri died at the age of 19, but at the time her mane caused a real stir in the zoological community.

Speaking to NPR when the change was observed, Topeka Zoo’s animal curator Shanna Simpson said: “It’s extremely rare. We had never even heard about this happening until we saw Zuri.”

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