Sheer Panda-monium In China: Taizhou Zoo Unveils Unique New 'Panda Exhibit'

We're not sure about you, but we could use a laugh. Not a snarky, sarcastic laugh at the left (we enjoy those every day), but just an innocent, fun laugh. Well … mostly innocent anyway. For that, we turn to the Taizhou Zoo in China's Jiangsu Province. See, the zoo management had a problem. Two problems, to be more precise. The first problem is that people love giant pandas. And what's not to love? They play, they cavort, they entertain the crowds. The only thing pandas don't do, not nearly often enough, is mate. It's why pandas have long been on the endangered species list, though they've recently been upgraded from endangered to vulnerable, thanks to efforts by China and the United States. They simply don't produce nearly enough offspring (they're also so lovably clumsy that many people wonder how they ever survived in the wild at all). This led to the Taizhou Zoo's second problem: they didn't have any giant pandas they could show off to zoo visitors.

For a lesser zoo, this would have meant defeat. For the Taizhou Zoo, it simply meant they needed to apply a little ingenuity … and a little hair dye. A couple of Chow Chow dogs and some Clairol and BOOM: panda exhibit. -- Zoogoers outraged to discover ‘panda’ exhibit was actually dogs dyed black and white. The reason we said mostly innocent at the top is that some people were outraged that the zoo would do this to a couple of dogs. However, zoo officials assured critics that the hair dye was perfectly safe for this long-haired dog breed, no different than people dying their hair. When asked why they had the canines engage in panda cosplay, a rep explained, “There are no panda bears at the zoo and we wanted to do this as a result.” Many visitors accused the sanctuary of animal cruelty; however, zoo officials insist that the dogfishing scheme isn’t harmful to the animals. “People also dye their hair,” rationalized the spokesperson. “Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur.”
Many social media users were on board with these canines in panda’s clothing with one fan writing, “They are very small to run that fast! I think they’re lovely.” - “I think they’re cute,” said another. -- We obtained official feedback from ladies on Twitter upon seeing the 'panda dogs.' Ninety percent had the following reaction: 'SQUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.'

• More at: Twitchy - Sheer Panda-monium in China: Taizhou Zoo Unveils Unique New 'Panda Exhibit'
https://twitchy.com/grateful-calvin/2024/05/07/just-for-fun-chinese-zoo-unveils-unique-panda-exhibit-n2395982
New York Post: Zoogoers outraged to discover ‘panda’ exhibit was actually dogs dyed black and white
https://nypost.com/2024/05/06/lifestyle/zoogoers-outraged-to-discover-panda-exhibit-was-actually-dogs-dyed-black-and-white/