A Chinese zoo has tried to pass off a dog as an African lion.
Dog or lion? Image: ifeng.com |
The zoo, in Henan province, has apologised for replacing an African lion with a Tibetan mastiff, after the lion was sent away to a breeding centre. The big cat was replaced by a big dog, which was owned by one of the workers at the zoo.
There was uproar after the public caught onto the animal swap-out, when the ‘lion’ started barking at the visitors. One visitor, who had come to the zoo to teach her son about animal sounds, left confused and disappointed.
The chief of the park’s animal department, Liu Suya, claimed the mastiff was placed in the cage because of “safety concerns.”
Earlier on in the year a similar controversy took place in the US, when a shaved labradoodle (a populare cross between a Labrador and a Poodle) caused panic on the streets of Norfolk, Virginia. The pup had been convincingly shaved by a local businessman to look like the local college mascot - a lion.
After being hounded down by local students, there is now a petition for the pooch to become the new mascot. For now, however, its just a pet project.