Saturday Morning Laughs -- Lion Imposter at Chinese Zoo

[redheadbaker]

Zoo In China Swaps Dog For Lion, Hopes No One Notices

www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/15/212327280/zoo-in-china-swaps-lion-for-dog-hopes-no-one-notices

Visitors to a zoo in China got a rude surprise when the lion started barking.

Turns out it was no lion, but just a Tibetan mastiff, a large, hairy breed of dog — which, for what it's worth, more closely resembles the king of the jungle than does perhaps any other domestic canine.

Apparently, officials in Louhe city zoo in central Henan province hoped no one would notice when they decided to make the switch and send the enclosure's regular resident, an African lion, away to a breeding center.

"One family surnamed Liu took their six-year-old son to the zoo in People's Park," reported the local Dahe Daily newspaper.

"On the way, Mrs. Liu was teaching her son all the sounds that the different animals make. But when they arrived, her son said the lion was barking like a dog."

Mrs. Liu told the Beijing Youth Daily: "The zoo is absolutely trying to cheat us. They are trying to disguise dogs as lions."

It turns out that the dog-for-cat swap wasn't the only attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of zoo patrons: There was also a domestic dog housed in the wolf pen, and a white fox was found pacing the leopard exhibit.

The Telegraph newspaper reports:

"There was no official explanation for the change of exhibits, but one zookeeper said the lion had been sent away for breeding.
Yu Hua, a spokesman for the People's Park said that the zoo had been run by a private businessman for several years, at an annual rent of [$17,000].

Many Chinese zoos have struggled to make money in recent years, after a government ruling that animal shows should cease and that they should operate on a non-profit basis."

[caden]

Wow. I think their counterfeiting just jumped the shark.

[orangeblossom]

That is ridiculous. Did they really think they that would work.

On a side note, I saw a dog like this walking bough DC one time, and it totally startled me. At first, I was like what is that, is it a statue or something, because it was sitting there so still. However, once it barked a rather ferocious sounding bark, I realized if was a dog.

He was cute and friendly. I think the owner said it weighed like 200+ pounds or something.

[redheadbaker]

I luuuuuuuurve giant dogs, but that is way too much fur for me! The shedded fur from my 40-lb Australian shepherd mix drives me up a wall. I can't imagine dealing with 5 times that amount.

[sushi]

Go home, China. You're drunk.