Strange 18-year-old female lion grows mane like a male

Recently, at Oklahoma Zoo (USA) appeared a 'rare, hard to find' animal. It owns a mane similar to a male lion.

Fox News reported that the 18-year-old lion named Bridget at Oklahoma Zoo has made the veterinarians extremely surprised when he started to mane from March 2017.

Gretchen Cole - a veterinarian at Oklahoma Zoo, said male lions usually grow at the age of 1. The reason is that male testosterone levels increase. Therefore, it is extremely rare for the female to grow mane.

The female lion Bridget grew mane like a male.(Photo: Oklahoma City Zoo).

This change in the female may not affect the health or quality of the animal's life.

Bridget is not the first female lion to mane like a male. Earlier, in 2011, the 13-year-old lion named Emma at the national zoo of South Africa also grew mane similar to Bridget. Scientists have discovered the cause is due to Emma's ovaries , causing production to exceed normal levels.

In 2014, it was also discovered that five female lions in Botswana had unusually developed hairs, even snarling like a male.

According to veterinarians at Oklahoma Zoo, Bridget's benign adrenal gland or pituitary can also be caused because these glands regulate testosterone and some other hormones.

To determine the cause, they took a sample of Bridget's blood compared to 'sister' named Tia. Tia is also 18 years old but has no mane.

Gretchen Cole said, this situation does not affect the animal's life. Overall, Bridget still possesses a very good state