Initially, zoo officials said that the lion, Manja Kani, had lost weight during the Movement Control Order (MCO) as its diet had been changed from meat to chicken.

Zoo Negara's deputy president Rosly @ Rahmat Ahmat Lana told Bernama that the diet for the lion was switched due to a shortage in meat during the MCO.

Guyss ini penjelasan Timbalan Presiden Zoo Negara berkenaan singa didakwa kurus itu. pic.twitter.com/C5AHtAeNKD

— nadia (@nadiazaman__) June 13, 2020

He also said that the lion was a "fussy eater" and just did not want to eat chicken.

This excuse did not go down well with netizens.

A different reason altogether

Now, the story has changed again.

In his latest interview with Astro Awani as reported by Malay Mail, Rosly changed his story saying that the lion was neglecting meals because it was too busy trying to woo its mate, Manja Ela.

“Manja Kani and Manja Ela have been in the mating process recently and that caused Manja Kani to skip meals sometimes.

“It’s normal for the panthera leo (lion) species but it was more noticeable in Manja Kani’s case because the female refused attempts to mate and he has been trying to coerce her into mating," he said.

Malaysian were enraged when pictures of Manja Kani surfaced online last week.