Add this to the long list of the strangest things ever faked in China. A chinese zoo in People's Park of Luohe, Henan province, got into trouble recently when its supposed "African lion" started barking like a dog:
The beast was in fact a Tibetan mastiff – a large and long-haired breed of dog.
“The zoo is absolutely cheating us,” the [Beijing Youth Daily] quoted Liu, who was charged 15 yuan ($2.45) for the ticket, as saying. “They are trying to disguise the dogs as lions.”
Not so, the zoo defended itself:
The chief of the park’s animal department, Liu Suya, told the paper that while it does have a lion, it had been taken to a breeding facility and the dog – which belonged to an employee – had been temporarily housed in the zoo over safety concerns.
Link - Thanks Steve!
Update 8/15/13: Neatoramanaut Marcos pointed out the real photos of the fake animals from Beijing Youth site (fake lion photo updated above) - Thanks Marcos!
Fake golden jaguar:
Fake wolf:
http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/A-zoo-lion-has-devastated-Chinese-spectators-20130816