WATCH this bizarre video of a dog painted as a tiger cub in a crooked Chinese zoo scam to lure in tourists.
The stunt has sparked yet another “fake animal” outrage after zoos in China – including this one – have previously been slammed for passing off painted dogs as pandas.
The fluffy pup was painted head-to-toe with orange and black dyeAsiaWire
AsiaWireThe dog paced around its pen – apparently unaware of how ridiculous it looked[/caption]
At least the tiger-pup had a pal to keep him companyAsiaWire
The footage snapped in Taizhou Zoo, Jiangsu Province, shows a small fluffy creature padding around a brick courtyard.
The animal is covered in black stripes and splodges over a carrot-orange background.
The cute face is stamped with a black streak on each cheek and smeared with a clumsy black mono-brow.
The fur ball is very obviously not a powerful adult tiger – but could be mistaken for a cub.
The animal sniffs around the yard, pacing up and down to check out what is going on beyond the fence.
It then jumps up just below the camera, and we get a good view of its head.
From this angle, it’s clear the cuddly creature is not a tiger cub but a coloured canine.
The ears are too pointy and the orange looks unnatural.
Dogs dolled-up to look like other species has become quite an issue in China.
Taizhou Zoo has previously been caught parading painted puppies as pandas in order to pull in crowds.
The rubbish dye job was quickly sniffed out that time as well, and the zoo was forced to admit the animals were chow chows instead.
In September last year, another Chinese zoo was caught pulling the very same stunt.
Some zoo visitors even demanded their money back after noticing the “pandas” barking and panting.
Footage showed two odd looking “pandas” in an enclosure, with one furry animal sticking its tongue out towards the sun.
Clips taken by visitors appeared to show the pups with black ears, limbs, and dark circles around their eyes, but their canine features were still very much apparent.
The footage was shot at a park in Guangyuan, which allows visitors to see “rare and exotic animals”.
The zoo claimed it had not misled people as it didn’t declare the animals were pandas, explaining instead that they were, in reality, “panda dogs”.
Street scammers in Russia are also known to dupe tourists into paying for pics with pups they believe are pandas.
On one occasion, eyewitnesses claimed the “tiny [painted] panda cub” was being “tortured” as it was forced to be out in extreme 40C heat.
Shocked local residents in the village of Monastir, near the city of Sochi in south-western Russia, called the police when they spotted a street trader offering people the black and white bear.
Taizhou Zoo has previously been slammed for parading painted dogs as pandas
Central European NewsA tourist trap in Russia saw a dyed dog being offered out as a panda for pics and the police called[/caption]