The zoo located in the People's Park of Luohe, in the province of Henan China had attempted something that was so cartoon, it could very well have been an episode of Scooby Doo. Almost. The State Run newspaper, the Beijing Youth Daily reports that a customer named Liu wanted to show her son the different sounds animals made. The astute youth quickly pointed out that the animal labeled “African Lion” was in fact, barking.
It was not a lion in the cage. In fact, it wasn't a feline at all. It was a Tibetan mastiff. Liu was justifiably outraged at the zoo charging admissions and then presenting animal imposters. Other mislabeled animals were found as well, including two coypu rodents in a snake's cage, a white fox in a leopard's den, and another canis domesticus in a wolf pen.
When questioned by the paper, zoo officials said that they do have a lion, but it was…out. The dog was merely an employee's pet that was being housed at the zoo due to safety concerns. It is safe to say that this yarn has not been well recieved by the public at large.