After pictures and videos of the exhibition took social media by storm, Shanwei Zoo first tried to claim that the animals were "panda dogs." They later admitted the animals were Chow Chows with their fur dyed to look like pandas. Chow chows are a breed of spitz that are popular in northern China, per the New York Post.
Customers who bought tickets to the zoo in hopes of seeing pandas were outraged by the revelation and asked for their money back.
One video posted to social media shows a "panda dog" panting with its paws draped over a ledge near a pool of water before another walks out into the open. People were quick to notice it had a large fluffy tail and big fluffy ears.
Zoo officials told Chinese state media that they had clearly advertised the dogs as "panda dogs" and did not make false claims, NBC News reported. Officials told the outlet that the dogs were still at the zoo as of Friday, and the number of visitors coming to see them remained "at a normal level."
Shanwei Zoo seemingly took inspiration from Taizhou Zoo, another Chinese zoo that dyed Chow Chows to look like pandas and called them "panda dogs." however the latter took care in informing zoogoers that this was the case and was meant to be a funny attraction to make up for their inability to host real pandas, per People.
