Dogs In The News - Lions and China and Zoos Oh My!
(These are notable, true stories from the mainstream press. Whether heartwarming, funny, perplexing, or touching, they all serve to remind us how dogs are so entwined in our lives, and sometimes in unique and unusual ways.)
When I go to a zoo, I’m awed when I come face-to-face with an African lion. I imagine that’s true for many people the world over, except for visitors at The People’s Park of Luohe in the Chinese province Henan, (click here for map) many of whom who were shocked when their African Lion barked! It turns out they didn’t have a lion on display because they couldn’t afford one. So they did what any reasonable person in that position would do: they put a Tibetan mastiff in the lion cage. And their deception didn’t stop there, instead of exotic animals, dogs were found posing as a timber wolf and a leopard.
At least one mother was furious. Liu Wen who was at the zoo, said: “I had my young son with me so I tried to play along and told him it was a special kind of lion.
“But then the dog barked and he knew straight away what it was and that I'd lied to him.”
Zoo staff apologized, and to make amends, Mr. Liu Suya, chief of the park's animal department offered refunds to angry visitors.
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