Zoo in China Tried to Pass off THIS Dog as a Lion

A Zoo in China is under fire after it was revealed that they were trying to pass a big hairy dog off as a lion.

The dog at the zoo based in People's Park of Luohe, in the central province of Henan was posing as an African Lion and only gave itself away when it barked.

The hairy pooch was in fact a Tibetan mastiff – a large breed of dog.

"The zoo is absolutely cheating us," said a customer called Liu.

"They are trying to disguise the dogs as lions."

According to the state-run Beijing Youth Daily, the zoo was trying to pass off a number of animals using more common species.

Pic: file photo of Tibetan mastiff and SCMP