monty python goes to the zoo

[Ken Gargett]

remind anyone else of the dead parrot sketch?

China zoo under fire for disguising dog as lion

Barking lion: a Tibetan mastiff dog, like the one used by a zoo in China. Photo: AFP

A Chinese zoo's supposed "African lion" was exposed as a fraud when the dog used as a substitute started barking.

The zoo in the People's Park of Luohe, in the central province of Henan, replaced exotic exhibits with common species, according to the state-run Beijing Youth Daily.

It quoted a customer surnamed Liu who wanted to show her son the different sounds animals made - but he pointed out that the animal in the cage labelled "African lion" was barking.

The beast was in fact a Tibetan mastiff - a large and long-haired breed of dog.

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"The zoo is absolutely cheating us," the paper quoted Liu, who was charged 15 yuan for the ticket, as saying. "They are trying to disguise the dogs as lions."

Three other species housed incorrectly included two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another dog in a wolf pen.

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.

Users of China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo service mocked the zoo.

"This is not funny at all. It's sad for both the zoo and the animals," said one.

"They should at least use a husky to pretend to be a wolf," said another.

[canadianbeaver]

LOL!!

OK I will try to give you the briefest account of this 100% true story which happened here just last week. We had 7 stray wild kittens in our back yard (a forest really) and we had to get rid of them. No agency would pick them up, except this whackadoodle cat rescue lady.

We took care of 6 of them but one held out until finally it was at death's door. By the time she came to get him, he was dead. :-(

She came to the door and I told her the news. He was pining for Fiords. He was pushing up the daisies. He was an ex-kitty. This kitty wouldn't meow if you put 50,000 bloody volts through him. I was having such a good time, after all, he was gone.

She poked it and said, "Did you see that?!! HE MOVED!" And then she took him to a vet to rescue him.

[Dara]

Ken, I was expecting this to be about the python in your cupboard being transferred to Australia Zoo!!!!

[OZCUBAN]

Isn't this akin to some NC makers passing off what are presumably Cigars :-)

[str8dog]

Was it a glass top lion?

[CaptainQuintero]

That's a cute as hell dog though!

To be fair over here inner city farms have had to be introduced because children were growing up not knowing if milk, meat, eggs or carrots etc grew on trees or were from animals....

[CanuckSARTech]

Isn't this akin to some NC makers passing off what are presumably Cigars :-)

Was it a glass top lion?

LOL. Classic!