Today, playing the part of a lion, …
By now, you’ve all seen the outcry over the Chinese zoo that used an understudy when their African lion was, according to their spokesman, taken to a breeding facility.
While the article, and the disgust with which it has been met, has been posted all over the Internet, it simply doesn’t answer the question on everyone’s lips: “how long did it take for anyone to notice the fierce king of the jungle was in fact a Tibetan mastiff?”
It seems that it was its gruff bark that gave it away, rather than its absence of any lion-like features, and it took a child to notice the discrepancy.
How many people walked past and admired its luxurious coat and cute nose?
How many people saw the beast and went home believing they had come face-to-face with the fierce beast legends are made of?
And then some silly little boy had to ruin the illusion.
The article just seemed too ridiculous to believe, so while friends and acquaintances mocked and berated the stupidity of the Chinese people who believed they had seen a lion – well not the little boy who knew better – I began wondering what animals we might cast in the roles which needed filling.
Even the king of the jungle is entitled to his annual holiday and a chance to get his ‘freak on’.
In fact, as king, he has an obligation to repopulate the savannah, so with its cuddly mane and fluffy coat, the Tibetan mastiff was an excellent choice to stand in for him while he got some RnR.
I think I too would cast him in this role.
But it wasn’t just the lion taking a break from the stress of being stared at day in and day out, no other animals took their holidays too and needed other animals to stand in for them
The People’s Park of Luohe, in the central province of Henan, had not only replaced the lion, imposters were standing in for a snake (played by two coypu rodents), a leopard – not very well played by a white fox, and another dog masquerading as a wolf.
Despite many environmentalists who will argue against the humanity of zoos, I believe that they are a great educational tool used to teach young city-dwelling children about animals.
I can therefore fully appreciate how disappointed the children might be, and how duped their parents may feel, to see a dog in lion’s clothes.
But the crux of the issue for visitors, wasn’t as it turns out, the deceit with which they were met upon their visit to the zoo. Rather it was the cast chosen for the deceit.
Because, while the mastiff may be able to pull off the guise of a vicious lion – mastiffs are quite large and rather intimidating if they charge at you with a heft of in excess of 60kgs – I rather doubt anyone is stupid enough to fall for the white fox as leopard ruse.
This I think was the real issue for some people – as vocalised by one zoo visitor quoted in the paper – “They should at least use a husky to pretend to be a wolf.”
It’s not the deceit, it’s the fact that the wrong animals were picked to star in this cast of summer understudies that really got the blood boiling.
The lesson to be learned by the zoo then is merely to choose a better ensemble next time. If the animals are right – and that silly little boy doesn’t visit again – the ruse might just work and no one would be any the wiser.
