Are these the world's cruellest zoo-goers? Chinese visitors pelt frightened lions with SNOWBALLS

Helpless lions take cover as group - including children - hurl snow at them

Attack 'launched by young man who laughed as he pelted animals'

Other animals at the zoo in Hangzhou, eastern China, were also targeted

Throwing snowballs at lions does not sound the safest - or kindest - way to enjoy yourself.



But when the animals are contained in a zoo enclosure and you are firing down on them from behind a safety barrier - it is a little easier to be brave.

These lions certainly looked less than pleased when they were pelted with snow by laughing visitors, including children, at Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang Province, eastern China.

Helpless: The two lions cowered together as snow was hurled down into their enclosure by the crowd above at Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang Province, eastern China



Bullying: A group of visitors - some just children - bombarded the lions with snow from the side of the pen



Frightened: The lioness, clearly scared, ducks down as snowballs fly past her



The attack was reportedly launched by one young man, who began to take aim at the big cats with a barrage of snow and ice.

The attack clearly frightened the helpless animals, with the lioness swiftly taking cover under a wooden plank.

The male line used a tree trunk as cover, with both eyes fixed on the visitors, as the missiles rained into the enclosure, ChinaSmack.com reports.

The man apparently laughed as he hurled the snow, with a group of other visitors, including a number of children, also starting to take aim at the lions.



Debris: The lions look at the ground as fragments of snow and ice land around them



Glare: The two lions look furious as they continued to be targeted (left) while the lion later took a direct hit to his head (right)



Fierce: the lion finally loses his temper and lets out a furious roar at their tormentors



One of them used large chunks of snow and threw them down with all of his strength, according to the website.



The frightened lions took shelter together in the corner of their pen as they tried to escape the new onslaught. The male lion roared in anger at his tormentors as they began to stroll away.