Donkeys painted with black stripes to look like zebras at Egyptian zoo

CAIRO: A zookeeper in Egypt has been accused of painting black stripes onto donkeys to make them look like zebras, but the person has denied these charges.

Mohamed Sultan, the zookeepers, denies that the animal at the International Gardens Park in Cairo is a fake despite experts saying that they look like donkeys.

Visitor Mahmoud Sarhan, 18, took pictures of the animals during a visit last month and it appears that some of the stripes have rubbed off.

Mahmoud said: ‘We finished our tour then we decided to take some pictures. When we went to the zebra side, there was only one zebra. ‘It came to us and the other one didn’t move, but when he came near to me, I realised from the first look that it was a painted donkey not a zebra. ‘People might realise that from the stripes. I sure felt shocked when people phoned me and asked me about this.’

A number of vets have said that they believe it is a painted donkey despite Mr Sultan’s insistence that it isn’t a fake.