Zoo denies exhibiting ‘fake zebras’

A zoo in Egypt has become the centre of attention on social media, after a visitor posted pictures online of what he believed to be ‘fake zebras’.

When student Mahmoud Sarhan visited the exhibition at the International Garden municipal park in Cairo’s Nasr City district, he thought the ‘zebras’ on display looked a little weird. The animals were small in size and Sarhan said one had what looked like paint smudges on its face.

“When we approached the zebra we realised that the lines were clearly painted, the paint was smudgy and his hair was nothing like that of a zebra,” Sarhan told ABC News. “It was a normal Egyptian donkey that you see everywhere.”

Sarhan then took pictures of them and put them on his Facebook page, where they quickly went viral. When contacted for comment, however, the zoo insisted that the animals were indeed authentic.

Animal experts have since weighed in and accused the zoo of trying to pass a couple of donkeys off as zebras.