A zoo in eastern China is facing ridicule online after visitors discovered that one of its “zebras” was actually a donkey painted with black stripes.
Footage from Qingyun Mountain Folk Custom Amusement Park in Anqiu, located in China’s Shandong Province, shows the animal sporting crudely painted stripes intended to resemble a zebra. The disguise quickly fell apart, however, as visitors pointed to the animal’s long ears, distinctive coloring, and the presence of other donkeys in the same enclosure.
Images and videos of the striped donkey spread rapidly across Chinese social media, where users mocked the zoo’s attempt to transform the animal into something more exotic.
Zoo staff later defended the stunt, insisting they never actually claimed the animal was a zebra. “We’re doing cosplay. We never said it was a zebra,” one staff member reportedly wrote online. “We didn’t even put up a sign saying it was a zebra! It’s just a joke, an abstract kind of thing meant to entertain visitors.”
According to local reports, park employees said they have carried out similar animal “makeovers” in the past as a way to amuse guests. The incident is the latest in a string of viral controversies involving Chinese zoos disguising animals as different species.
In 2025, another zoo in Shandong Province admitted to painting donkeys with zebra stripes after social media users exposed the deception. At the time, zoo officials defended the move as a harmless marketing gimmick and said the paint used on the animals was non-toxic.
Chinese zoos have also gained international attention in recent years for dyeing dogs to resemble other animals. In 2024, several zoos painted Chow Chow dogs black and white to resemble giant pandas. The animals became a major attraction after videos circulated online showing visitors posing beside the so-called “panda dogs.” Zoo officials defended the practice, arguing that the dyed dogs were clearly identified and that the process was no different than people coloring their hair.
A year later, another Chinese zoo drew criticism after painting Chow Chows orange and black in an attempt to make them resemble tigers. The zoo later acknowledged that the animals were dogs and described the display as a promotional stunt.
The practice is not limited to China. In 2018, a zoo in Egypt faced international scrutiny after visitors alleged that donkeys had been painted to look like zebras. Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere, including in Gaza, where zoo operators painted donkeys with stripes after struggling to acquire exotic animals due to import restrictions.
Animal welfare groups have criticized the practice, arguing that painting animals for entertainment can cause unnecessary stress and potential health risks.
PETA previously warned that “no reputable animal-care facility would subject skittish animals like donkeys to the stress of being restrained and sprayed with chemicals like paint.”
Despite the criticism, the latest striped donkey has already become an online sensation, with many social media users focusing less on animal welfare concerns and more on the quality of the disguise itself.
“The zebra costume isn’t even convincing,” one commenter wrote online, while another joked that the donkey appeared to be wearing “half-finished pajamas.”
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