The zoo was forced to acknowledge that they were, in fact, donkeys after images of the painted animals went viral on social media

A zoo in Zibo City, Shandong Province, China, is facing backlash after it was discovered that donkeys had been painted with black and white stripes to resemble zebras in an attempt to attract more visitors.

A Chinese zoo allegedly admitted to painting donkeys black and white to pass off as zebras in an attempt to drive up park attendance. The Zibo City amusement park in Shandong province came under fire when internet users noticed the donkeys were disguised as zebras in early February,