A Chinese zoo has said that a lion had to chew off half of its own tail after it became stuck in a watering hole that turned to ice in freezing temperatures.

Tourists visiting the Taiyuan Zoo in North China's Shanxi Province during the Lunar New Year holidays noticed that the injured lion was missing part of its tail and demanded to know what had happened.

A Taiyuan Zoo spokesman explained that the lion fell asleep with its tail inside an artificial drinking hole, which froze over in the cold temperatures.

In the clip a malnourished lion and lioness can be seen walking around the Taiyuan Zoo in North China's Shanxi Province

Half of the lion's tail is missing in the video. A zoo spokesman said the lion bit it off after it became frozen in a watering hole

The tail suffered tissue damage and bled, so the lion 'bit it off', the spokesman added.

He also said that after employees discovered the injury the lion was put on a course of medication to help stop the bleeding.

Visitors accused the zoo of abuse and maltreatment as the lion also appeared to be malnourished and was kept inside a cage together with a lioness which appeared to be equally underfed.

The zoo did not respond to accusations that the two lions were underfed and malnourished.

Users on China's Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo said the lions looked 'depressed' in a video that showed them pacing around their tiny enclosure.