A zoo in China was forced to confess what was long suspected — that the pandas people have been gushing about were actually dogs painted black and white.
Visitors only realized the scam at the Shanwei zoo after one of the so-called pandas started panting and barking, local media reported, according to the New York Post.
Video shot by one of the zoo’s guests shows the disguised doggies in their cage, one of which was lying on a rock, visibly panting.
The camera then pans to the second canine, showing off its long tail.
“It’s a PANdog,” one viewer wrote, while another user joked: “That’s the Temu version of a panda.”
Once the video went viral, the organizers admitted they had painted two chow chows — a dog breed originally from northern China — with black-and-white markings.
Visitors have since demanded their money back, claiming false advertising, according to the outlet.
Earlier this year, the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province was also outed for passing off painted dogs as pandas.
Reps for the zoo initially bizarrely claimed they were a rare breed of “panda dogs,” before admitting the species did not exist.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Zoo officials told Chinese state media they had clearly marketed them as “panda dogs” so they didn’t do anything wrong.
At the time, the zoo was called out for misleading visitors and mistreating the animals. However, zoo officials defended the exhibit, stating the dogs had not been harmed.
“Normal people dye their hair,” a spokesperson told Qilu Evening News. “Dogs can dye their hair, too. It’s the same as hair.”