5 Animals Disguised as Other Animals

Dogs that look like their owners is a phenomenon that has been the subject of a book, a photo exhibit, a recent scientific study, and, of course, a BuzzFeed post. But dogs that look like African lions? Well, that’s sort of new. As are ferrets that look like poodles.  

1. THE COWARDLY TIBETAN MASTIFF

Earlier this month, a Tibetan Mastiff being touted as an African lion at a zoo in the People's Park of Luohe in China (above) gave its canine identity away when a pint-sized visitor and his mom approached the Not-Quite-King of the Jungle’s cage and heard it barking. Ruh-roh! 

2. THE SLY LEOPARD

Barcroft Media /Landov

The Tibetan Mastiff isn’t the only case of mistaken animal identity at the People’s Park. Following the outing of the dog-turned-lion, additional reports surfaced that the zoo has used dogs in place of wolves (not a huge stretch) and foxes in place of leopards (definitely a huge stretch). In response to the allegations of fraud, a spokesperson for the park—which is temporarily closed—noted, “We’re doing our best in tough economic times. If anyone is unhappy with our displays, we will give back their money.”

3. THE GOLDEN TIGER

Wild animal fake-outs are nothing new in China. In 2010, a handful of dyed dogs—including a Chow/panda and Golden Retriever/tiger—were used to attract visitors to the opening of the Dahe Pet Civilization Park in Zhengzhou, Henan.

4. THE TOY FERRET

With all that facial fuzz, it’s hard to tell what a toy poodle’s mug actually looks like. But one thing it certainly doesn’t look like is a ferret. That small fact didn’t stop a pet seller in Argentina from pumping a few ferrets full of steroids and passing them off as designer dogs.

5. THE ZEBRA-STRIPED STALLION

The joke was on the hungry horseflies of Weye, Germany, when horse farm owner Claudia Wide painted zebra stripes on her black stallion after reading a study from Sweden’s Lund University. The study’s researchers discovered that zebras in the wild don’t have to contend with pesky horsefly bites because of the way their stripes reflect light.

Other Animals in Disguise

The Rubber Snake

In 1984, a regular visitor to the Houston Zoo became concerned when he noticed a coral snake had not seemed to move in nine months. The reason? It was made of rubber. “We have had live snakes in the exhibit,” curator John Donaho explained to the visitor, “but they don't do well—they tend to die.” 

The Plastic Polar Bear
Polar bear-loving visitors to the St. Louis Zoo went home fairly disappointed in 2009 when the living, breathing Arctic creatures who had called the zoo home were replaced with illuminated, plastic versions. To be fair, the zoo wasn’t hoping visitors would be fooled; the decorative versions were a temporary placeholder following the passing of the zoo’s one polar bear, Hope, while the zoo was on a waiting list for a new one.