Visitors to a Chinese zoo were shocked to find that the “panda” exhibit was, in reality, filled with dogs dyed black and white to mimic the iconic bears that are China’s national animal.

Photos of the unusual exhibit went viral, causing quite a stir.

According to the New York Post, Jam Press first reported that the fake pandas were unveiled on May 1 at the Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province were Chow Chows — a fluffy breed of dog originating from Northern China, known for their distinctive appearance and historical significance.

Apparently, Zoo officials had trimmed the dogs’ fur and dyed them black and white to resemble pandas, as they couldn’t provide real pandas.

A zoo in China painted dogs because they didn’t have real Pandas😂 pic.twitter.com/BUyw7M4z9q

— Gareth (@garethrichmond5) May 6, 2024

Deux chiens ( 2 chowchows) 🐶 🐶 teints / déguisés en #pandas 🐼🐼 dans un zoo #Taizhou #Chine🇨🇳 pour attirer plus de touristes. @arnauldmiguet @GaelC21 @Charlie_Wang6 pic.twitter.com/D8KkFQHrUG

— FranceTVChine (@FranceTVChine) May 5, 2024

The zoo displayed these “panda dogs” daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., attracting crowds despite the clear deception.

When questioned about the rationale behind this unusual display, a zoo representative reportedly explained, “There are no panda bears at the zoo, and we wanted to do this as a result.”

Some visitors accused the zoo of animal cruelty, but the zoo struck back and insisted that the dye was harmless to the dogs.

A representative for the zoo argued that “people also dye their hair” and that the dye was suitable for long-haired dogs.

“Natural dye can be used on dogs if they have long fur,” the representative said.

While the stunt received criticism, some social media users found humor in it, describing the dogs as “cute” and “lovely.”

Last year, Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang Province in eastern China, was accused of having a human being dressed up in a Malaysian sun bear costume.

According to the U.K.’s Independent, Angela the sun bear was able to to stand upright for extended periods of time, look at the crowd, and wave to visitors and passersby, fueling speculation that the bear was actually a person in disguise.

Zoo in China denies human in bear costume rumor sparked by videos of sagging fur.

The zoo confirms Angela is a real Malaysian sun bear, a smaller species, and stated that a human in a bear suit wouldn’t withstand summer temperatures of up to 104°F (40°C).pic.twitter.com/EcEx0A9LT5

— BoreCure (@CureBore) July 31, 2023

Despite these suspicions, the zoo quickly released a statement from Angela’s perspective denying the claims, emphasizing that she’s a real bear.

The bear was also confirmed as being real by Dr. Ashleigh Marshall from Chester Zoo, who told the BBC that this particular breed of bears often “look a lot like people in their costumes.”

Following the viral sun bear video, Hangzhou Zoo reportedly saw a 30 percent increase in visitors.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.