Photos of the painted donkey disguised as a zebra went viral after one visitor shared photos online.
New animals in a zoo always attract more visitors, but what an Egyptian zoo did to get more footfall has not only started a laughing riot online but also triggered a backlash. A zoo in Cairo has been accused of trying to fool visitors by painting a donkey with zebra stripes! Yes, quite a softer personification of the proverb “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
A student visiting the zoo was baffled to see the animal with what looked like marks drawn by paint and shared it on Facebook. The smudged colour near its mouth and ear were enough to convince him otherwise but the zoo authorities refuted the claims and insisted the animal is the ‘real thing’.
Mahmoud Sarhan put the images on Facebook after visiting Cairo’s International Garden municipal park and it quickly went viral for the obvious reasons across social media platforms. Sharing the photo the young man wrote in Arabic: “The stupidity has reached in the country that they brought a local donkey and painted it to look like a zebra.”
— mahmoud.sarhann (@mahmoud__sarhan) July 23,
Many on social media thought it was really stupid and slammed the zoo authorities.
I’ve seen a zebra. A zebra is a zebra is a zebra. But a painted donkey, I have not seen. Sign me up
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 28, 2018
If the donkey identifies itself as a zebra I think we should respect that https://t.co/qkZy9W98fl
— Rick the Ref (@_Reffuji_) July 29, 2018
I just want to see an interview with the dude that painted the donkey lmao.
“Honey, how was your day?”
“I turned a donkey into a zebra.” https://t.co/T5K8yARncA
— Joshua Morgan (@JoshMorgan63) July 29, 2018
Zebra? Or donkey? A zoo in Egypt is accused of spray painting a donkey to look like a zebra!… pic.twitter.com/D0kCJe43fc
— Mary Stackhouse (@marywzdx) July 29, 2018
I feel bad for all the shade being thrown at zebra donkey. Maybe the donkey wanted to be a zebra & the zoo was just allowing him to live his best life.
— Censored Girl (@Girl_Censored) July 27, 2018
When you can’t afford a zebra…so you spray paint a donkey #Zebras #zebragate #zebradonkey pic.twitter.com/SLJ28JYEil
— Mr.Bump (@bigglezuk) July 27, 2018
#donkeygate pic.twitter.com/2DGhkRDYDq
— Jazmin Frost 🏳️🌈⚧💚 (@JazminKFrost) July 27, 2018
Yeh, no one will notice the zebra’s actually a donkey with stripes added,🤦♂️Fair play for trying though! 😂 #zebra#Donkey #Egypt #DonkeyZebra
https://t.co/WY63nuDIYh— Nick Thompson (@nt123) July 27, 2018
Zoo in Cairo makes ass out of itself. Paints a donkey & calls it a zebra. Can’t make this 💩 up. #Zebra #Donkey #DonkeyZebra https://t.co/ENeyYsAgP5
— Lisa & K9X3 (@LisaAlesci) July 27, 2018
Some even asked PETA to check. In their blog, the animal welfare organisation slammed the zoo and wrote, “No reputable animal-care facility would subject skittish animals like donkeys to the stress of being restrained and sprayed with chemicals like paint, which could cause a painful allergic reaction.” They also urged people to boycott the zoo.
ANIMALS DESERVE OUR RESPECT 😡
As if suffering in captivity wasn’t already horrible enough, this roadside zoo in #Cairo reportedly painted donkeys to look like zebras. https://t.co/ni8KppBqgL
— PETA 🐳🐬 (@peta) July 27, 2018
This isn’t the first time a zoo has tried to fool visitors. Earlier a zoo in Gaza had done the same with a donkey, painting it with black stripes to make it look like a zebra.
