In spite of their appearance, members of the pride recognize them as females

Oct 16, 2012 12:22 GMT  ·  By

As weird as this may sound, it seems that lionesses can sometimes grow manes which stand to give lions a run for their money.

Specialists believe that this happens if a female lion fetus is exposed to significant amounts of male hormones prior to birth (i.e. while it is still in its mother's womb).

However, nobody can say for sure whether or not this unusual feature allows the lionesses to take over a pride and become its leaders, especially given the fact that all the other big cats in their family recognize them as females.

In spite of the fact that they cannot breed, these maned lionesses can pretty much enjoy all the other perks of life in the wild, meaning that they find themselves in quite good health.