in china, this dog is actually a lion

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In the last two decades, the number of African lions in the world has dropped by nearly half. But not to let a pesky issue like species decline get in the way of their animal offerings, one zoo in China has taken an interesting step to round out their exhibit -- by trying to pass a fluffy dog off as a ferocious lion.

The BBC reports that the zoo, located in Louhe City, enlisted a long, golden-haired Tibetan mastiff as a stand-in for the iconic big cat. For those unfamiliar with what lions are suppose to look like, or who forgot their glasses, the canine's appearance might have been convincing enough, but when the 'lion' opened its mouth, the ruse was quickly up.

According to a report in the Beijing Youth Daily, the fraud came to light when a mother visited the zoo, in a park in the city of Louhe, to show her son the sounds different animals made.

But when they got to the cage marked "African lion" - which had a sign describing the range and characteristics of the animal - they were shocked to hear the creature bark.