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A zoo denies having painted stripes on a donkey to pass it off to patrons as a zebra, despite overwhelming evidence that someone has performed this trick.

Some of the stripes have smudged.

If the animal in the first picture looks like a real zebra, that’s because it is. It’s an authentic zebra, photographed in Africa, for comparison with the one below.

The dodgy one shown below (the one that’s really a donkey) is in Egypt. Mahmoud Sarhan, 18, an Egyptian student, posted photos online after visiting the zoo at Cairo’s International Garden.

The zoo animal has long pointy ears and a small frame like a donkey. It doesn’t have a zebra’s black nose. Experts, and people who know donkeys, say it is a donkey. The pictures went viral, prompting animal experts to confirm that there’s no way it could be a zebra.

At last report, however, the new zoo, which opened earlier this year in a park east of downtown Cairo, continues to insist its beast is a genuine zebra.

Mahmoud Sarhan and the animal in question. Facebook

Sarhan said when he came upon the animal, the black paint had dripped down its face in the heat and smudged and he noticed immediately that its ears were not the correct shape for a zebra.

He wrote in Arabic on his Facebook page: “Stupidity has reached new heights in this country – they brought a local donkey and painted it to look like a zebra.”

Written by Peter Needham