A golden pheasant has become a star in China because people think he has the same hairstyle as Donald Trump.

Pictures of the animal became widely shared today on Chinese media after a journalist from Hangzhou took a picture of the male bird and pointed out the 'striking similarity' between him and the US President-elect.

Mr Gao, the keeper of the bird, told MailOnline that he was surprised to hear the news, however he had begun to notice the resemblance between the two.

Mr Gao works for Hangzhou Safari Park in eastern China, where the five-year-old bird lives.

He said the pheasant was called 'Little Red' because of his extremely red feathers.

The bird is more colourful than the other pheasants because he is very healthy, according to Mr Gao who looks after around 50 pheasants in the park.

The man told MailOnline: 'I had not noticed the likeness in the past because I had not paid particular attention to the pheasant's hairstyle. But after Trump was elected President of America, I start seeing more pictures of him and I think the pheasant looks a little bit like him.'

According to Mr Gao, pheasants have thicker and brighter feathers in winter because they bring insulation, and that is why 'Little Red' has such golden feathers on his head at this time of the year.

Chinese web users have been amused by a collage of the 'Little Red' and Donald Trump, with many expressing their thoughts on the resemblance.

One user wrote on Chinese news site Sina: 'A new trendy hairstyle was born at the end of 2016.'

Another Sina user joked: 'As a matter of fact, the pheasant is better looking than Trump.'

One person said on Chinese news site QQ.com: 'Not only does the pheasant's appearance looks like Trump, its facial expression looks like Trump's too. Look at its eyes, they are very similar [to Trump's]. The only difference is the man doesn't have a beak.' 

A spokesman from Hangzhou Safari Park told MailOnline: 'A local journalist came to our zoo yesterday and took some pictures of the bird, then wrote about him. We see the pheasant every day. We don't think he is special in anyway, so we are very surprised to see he has become a star.'

Although golden pheasants can be found in many parts of the world today, the birds are native to China and are a protected animal species in the country.

Mr Gao said he was very proud that a precious Chinese bird could gain such media attention. He said: 'I expect more tourists to come to our zoo to see the pheasant now that he has been in the news.'