Kicker: Lioness with a mane

MARY REICHARD, HOST: A female lion at the Oklahoma City Zoo made the news lately after she sprouted a mane. That’s usually what you see in the male of the species.

Well, lab results are in now. It turns out the African lioness named Bridget has elevated levels of a hormone that helps develop male features. She also has a higher level of the hormone that regulates metabolism and the immune system.

The zoo says this most likely means the 18-year-old lioness has a benign tumor that’s producing the hormones— but that her health is excellent.

They also say a female lion with a mane is not unheard of— but it’s pretty rare.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(Amanda Sorenson/Oklahoma City Zoo via AP) These photos provided by the Oklahoma City Zoo taken, March 25, 2017, left, and Nov. 23, 2017, right, show Bridget, a lioness that has grown a mane.

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