CAIRO: In a bizarre turn of events, a zoo in Cairo has been found out trying to pass off a donkey as a zebra by painting stripes on the animal, but the manager insists it is the real thing.
Visitor Mahmoud Sarhan said he was at the recently-opened animal sanctuary at the International Garden municipal park when he spotted a “strange looking animal.”
In the heat, the black paint had dripped down the donkey’s face and the ears were not the correct shape for a zebra, he said. He then posted a picture on his Facebook page, and it has since gone viral.
He wrote in Arabic: “The stupidity has reached new heights in this country — they brought a local donkey and painted it to look like a zebra.”
The director of Gardens Project in Cairo, Mohammed Sultan, has rejected claims that the animal is actually a donkey.
“The zebra is real and not painted,” Sultan told Egypt’s Youm 7 news channel. He added that the animals are well taken care of and are inspected regularly to ensure their welfare.
However, a leader at animal activist group PETA Foundation disagreed.
“No reputable animal care facility would subject a skittish animal like a donkey to the stress of being restrained and sprayed with chemicals like paint, which could cause a painful allergic reaction, and PETA hopes that Cairo authorities are fully investigating this matter,” PETA Vice President Delcianna Winders told CNN in a statement.