Hang Hang the lion with a mullet causes uproar at Chinese zoo

Even lions can have a bad hair day.

Hot and humid* weather in southwest China is cramping the hairstyle of Hang Hang the lion, who was recently photographed at Guangzhou Zoo with a mane looking more like a mullet.

Zookeepers said the lion licked his paws and then brushed down his mane to create the unusual straight look.

Hang Hang looked a little out of place as one of the fiercest predators – but he was an instant hit after visitors spotted him sporting the funky hair-do.

Photographs of the unusually coiffed* big cat have also caused excitement on social media, with many comparing his mane to the mullet sported by Joe Exotic from the Netflix hit show Tiger King.

Others said he resembled the mop-topped members of 1960s British band The Beatles.

Hang Hang’s flattened fringe was spotted by zoogoers on May 29. Some visitors complained staff must have cut the lion’s mane, but the zoo said “it was purely nature’s magic.”

“The hairstyle was purely nature’s magic,” a zoo spokesperson said. “We wouldn’t dare cut the lion’s hair.

“He looked like a blonde supermodel with fringe because of the high humidity in Guangzhou.”

Hang Hang has since attracted an increase in onlookers hoping to spot his unusual hair style.

“He’s the most beautiful boy here now, and more people are coming to see him,” his keeper told Viral Press.

This year has been one of China’s hottest, with experts saying Guangzhou had experienced extremes in temperature. The city recorded its coldest temperature of just 13.7C on May 3, before soaring to 32C just three weeks later.

GLOSSARY

• humid: containing a lot of tiny water drops in the air
• coiffed: carefully arranged or styled hair

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What is the lion’s name?
2. Which Chinese zoo does the lion call home?
3. Who did people on social media compare the lion’s mane to?
4. What date did zoo visitors notice the lion’s unusual hairstyle?
5. How did the zoo explain the lion’s hairstyle?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Interview Hang Hang
Imagine that you could interview Hang Hang for Cool Lions magazine. Write at least four questions that you would ask Hang Hang. Write the answers that you think he would give. Your purpose is to hear his side of the story and get some style tips for other lions.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Create a design for a special area in Guangzhou Zoo that will keep the lions, and other animals, cool and comfortable in the hot weather. Remember to make sure that different animals can use the area safely.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies

VCOP ACTIVITY
Stretch your sentence
Find a “who” in the article – a person or an animal. Write it down.

Add three adjectives to describe them better.

Now add a verb to your list. What are they doing?

Add an adverb about how they are doing the action.

Using all the words listed, create one descriptive sentence.