A LIONESS has stunned zoo-goers with her big belly as zoo keepers insist there is a simple reason for her weight gain.

In video footage taken by a shocked animal lover, a lioness can be seen slumped on the ground, munching on grass.

In the footage taken at the Chengdu Zoo in China, an entire pride of lions has reportedly been struggling with obesity .

The lioness in the video has a belly so large that it drooped dangerously close to the ground.

The video has drawn widespread criticism from Chinese animal lovers and activists, who say the lions and tigers in the zoo had been looking "dangerously obese".

Comments on the video included social media users asking: "How do they feed the lions? They're raising them like little fat pigs!".

Another person commented: "Are they trying to

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