Everyone knows that visually, the biggest difference between male lions and female lions is the thick mane unique to the male lion's neck.
But Zuri, a lioness at Topeka Zoo in Kansas, says that "long beards" are not reserved for male lions.
In 2005, Topeka Zoo introduced two lion sisters, Zori and Asante, and the following year a male lion, Avus, to form a small family of three lions.
By October 2020, Avus, a 16-year-old lion, was already very weak due to various senile diseases.
In order to stop his torture, the zoo regretfully decided to euthanize him.
Although lions are social animals, the zoo staff did not expect that the relationship between these three lions was so deep.
In the days following Avus' death, the two lionesses became very sensitive, easily nervous, irritable, and even lost their appetite a lot.
What's even stranger is that Zori is starting to grow a mane...
Simpson said that since Avus' death, Zori has grown a mane, and now two years later, the mane on his neck is very luxuriant, but not as full as an adult male lion:
"It looks like an adolescent male with fresh hair around its neck."
In addition to his mane, Zuri has become less and less like an "18-year-old grandmother (a lion's life expectancy is only 14 years in captivity)," Simpson said, becoming more active and often making terrifying growls.
Zuri's transformation baffled the zoo.
Not to mention that the female lion has a long mane is unreasonable, and the fact that Zori has a long mane is not at all in line with the laws of evolution.
Because in nature, the mane of a lion is really of little use except for courtship.
Generally speaking, wild female lions will give preference to male lions with darker manes, and male lions with lighter manes are more likely to be bullied by other male lions.
But in terms of survival, mane actually does not help positively, but will affect the concealment of lions when hunting, and it is also more detrimental to lion heat dissipation.
So Simpson speculated that the reason for Zuri's mane may be because he was "too responsible."
Simpson said that in the zoo lions, although Avus is the nominal boss as a male lion, Zuri is generally the leader who makes the idea, which is a bit of a strong female lion.
Because of this, Avus has only had cubs with Asante and has never attempted to mate with Zuri.
After Avus left, Zari naturally took over the role of leader and became the alpha woman in the group:
"It felt the need to protect the tribe and establish majesty, so its testosterone increased, and the hair on its neck increased."
However, the zoo also said that this is just speculation, and they have not given Zuri a hormone test at this time.
Because Zari was physically free from past tests, staff would not casually test him invasively, which would put a lot of mental and physical stress on the 18-year-old lion.
But Chris of the World Wild Feline Protection Organization disagrees.
"I don't think losing a male lion would have that result," he said. Perhaps this lioness is more dominant, and this has something to do with its hormone secretion. But in the wild, there is no hierarchy between lionessesses, and there is no 'dispute' and no 'leadership'.
So Zuri's change may just be a random event, rather than its proactive responsibility to protect the community. ”
Because of Zuri's age, it is not convenient for scientific organizations to conduct further research on it, but in fact, Zuri's change is not unique.
In 2016, scientists published a paper describing the life of several maned female lions in a lion tribe in Africa.
These scientists observed adult lionesses in an area and found that out of dozens of female lionses, 5 developed manes, and even one was suspected of growing eggs...
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According to scientists' observations, these female lions have had sex with male lions many times in 8 years, but have never given birth or even become pregnant, which may be caused by their high testosterone levels.
In addition, the lioness with eggs even had a relationship with three lionesses, but there was no "crystallization"...
In this way, if age permits, the lion sisters of Zarri and Asante may develop a new relationship...