Stepan the lynx from the Kyiv Zoo has become an internet sensation thanks to his "curvy figure"

A lynx named Stepan from the Kyiv Zoo has taken social media by storm after noticeably putting on weight over the winter.

The animal is enjoying the first warm days in the zoo’s fruit garden, and beneath his thick winter coat, you can clearly see the layer of fat that helped him survive the cold season.

Zoo staff joke that Stepan is already being prepared for “beach season,” but social media users are delighted with his appearance and call him the “croissant lynx.”

In the comments, Kyiv residents are actively joking that “we’re all a little bit like Stepan” and that the predator looks like a well-fed pet.

Despite his “curvy figure,” the zoo emphasizes that the lynx remains a graceful animal, and the extra weight is a natural occurrence after winter.

A Far Eastern leopard cub with an unusual black coat has appeared at a zoo in the Kyiv region. This subspecies is one of the rarest in the world—only about a hundred individuals remain in the wild. In its natural habitat, the black coat makes hunting and survival more difficult.