Busted: Zoo in China Caught with Fake Pandas

Visitors to the zoo in Shanwei were outraged to learn that a pair of “pandas” on exhibit were in fact dogs that had been dyed to look like China’s iconic bears.

The sham was revealed when one of the exhibits began panting and barking, apparently very unpanda-like behavior. As an astonished visitor began taking a video of the faux bear, a second black-and-white pooch strolled into view — with a long, curly tail.

Give the zoo credit for chutzpah, as it tried to explain the chimeras as a new breed of “panda dogs.” It eventually admitted that the animals were chow chows, a spitz-like doggo popular in northern China, that had been dyed to look a little more bearish.

Unamused customers demanded a refund for  tickets they say were purchased under false pretenses.

It’s not the first time a Chinese zoo has tried to fob off fakes. In May, the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province was busted for the same ruse: dyed dogs cosplaying as pandas. The zoo said it resorted to such fakery after it had been denied permission to house giant pandas. Oddly enough, the fakes became almost as popular as the real thing.

A Taizhou spokesperson told the Qilu Evening News, “Normal people dye their hair. Dogs can dye their hair, too.”

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