How did Bridget the bearded lioness grow her mane? Zoologists are baffled

Oklahoma City Zoo veterinary caretakers have a tough one on their hands.

How did Bridget, an 18-year-old African lioness, become the animal kingdom’s bearded lady?

It would have been a rare occurrence even for a male lion to develop a mane at the ripe old age of 18. According to the zoo’s blog post on “The Curious Case of Bridget’s Mane,” males usually develop their manes at one year, a product of increased testosterone production in the body.

But Bridget suddenly sprouted hers between the months of March and November 2017.

Gretchen Cole, an associate veterinarian at the OKC Zoo, told ABC News it’s an “exceptionally rare” development.

“After a while, it became obvious to everybody that Bridget was developing something a little different,” Cole told the network.

It is rare, but it’s not completely unheard of, according to the zoo’s blog post. A vet at the National Zoo in South Africa discovered a similar story to Bridget’s in 2011, when Emma, a 13-year-old lioness, developed her mane.

Emma’s skin biopsies showed she had normal female XX chromosomes, and she gave birth to four cubs in 2000. So Emma must have had normal ovaries at that time.

Examinations of her ovaries in 2011 showed the presence of cells normally seen in males’ testicles. After her ovaries were removed, according to National Zoo Gardens vet Adrian Tordiffe, Emma gradually lost her mane.

Trainers at the OKC Zoo spent days with Bridget, teaching her to lay her tail off to the side so they could draw blood from it without having to put the lioness under anesthesia. the zoo’s veterinarians will compare Bridget’s blood with blood from her sister, Tia, to search for abnormalities.

“They successfully obtained a blood sample last week and are currently awaiting results,” the zoo said in response to several comments on its Facebook page. “We’ll keep our followers updated!”

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 12:27 PM with the headline "How did Bridget the bearded lioness grow her mane? Zoologists are baffled."