Visitors to a Chinese zoo were stunned to find a donkey painted to look like a zebra.
The bizarre scenes were filmed at a wildlife park in Anqiu, Weifang, and have recently gone viral on Chinese social media.
The footage shows the animal in a forlorn enclosure, its coat marked with crude black stripes in a half-hearted attempt to make it resemble a different species.
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However, its long, pointed ears – as well as the fact it was surrounded by other donkeys – quickly gave it away.
After being heavily mocked online, staff at the Qingyun Mountain Folk Custom Amusement Park offered a baffling explanation.
The park said: “We’re doing cosplay. We never said it was a zebra!
“We didn’t even put up a sign saying it was a zebra! It’s just a joke, an abstract kind of thing meant to entertain visitors.”
Staff also claimed they had carried out similar “makeovers” on several dogs in an effort to amuse visitors.
It is not the first time a Chinese zoo has raised eyebrows with a gimmick of this kind, as reported by Need To Know.
Taizhou Zoo unveiled two dogs dressed as pandas on 1 May 2024, after it did not have any actual pandas for visitors to see.
The Chow Chows’ fur was trimmed short before black-and-white dye was applied to their faces and bodies.
Social media users accused the zoo of animal cruelty, but a zoo spokesperson responded: “People also dye their hair.
“Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur.”
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