It was a whale of a fail

Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen, China which opened on Oct. 1 following a five-year renovation. During its week-long dry run, the 645,000-square-foot ocean zoo attracted around 100,000 visitors, who paid around $40 to enter the wet wonderland. Visitors were eager to check out the theme park’s star attraction, a whale shark, the world’s largest fish, capable of attaining over 60 feet in length. However, many felt cheated after realizing that the so-called regal sea beast was actually just a mechanical doppelgänger. Photos taken through the tank glass show the fishy robot, which sports obvious gaps in its torso where its segments have been connected, evoking a prop from a SyFy channel shark movie. “By 3 o’clock, people were already demanding refunds,” fumed one disillusioned visitor while ripping the robot shark. Outraged over the great white lie, park-goers flooded Xiaomeisha with a sharknado of criticism online. Aquarium reps claimed they’d created the robotic whale shark to adhere to laws prohibiting the trade of genuine animals.  “When I heard the name, I was full of anticipation, but when I arrived, I saw a mechanical whale shark. It’s not interesting at all.”

Speaking of knockoffs, this is far from the first time someone has felt conned by Chinese zoo critters:

At another zoo, Mr. Tang recorded a video of the Lion cage while joking that the animal looked familiar and he wasn’t convinced he was looking at a real lion. Mr. Tang suggested they had trimmed and fluffed the hair on a big dog to simulate a lion’s mane. Perhaps the lion hadn’t grown up yet, he joked in the footage. “After walking around the cage, we realized it is where the lion should be housed,” he said, before accusing the zoo of selling tickets promoting lions without any in the zoo. A worker was quoted as saying the zoo was “adjusting the animals’ accommodations,” with the lion’s sign not taken down yet.

Meanwhile, in the Zhejiang province, Hangzhou Zoo posted a video online this week from the perspective of Angela, a Malaysian sun bear, to insist she is in fact a bear. In the Video below. It said: “Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well.” Zookeepers added in the post: “When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and amazing power. “But not all bears are behemoths and danger personified. We Malayan bears are petite, the smallest bear in the world.” The bear’s impressive posture and ability to stand up on its back legs and wave led to a number of viewers becoming suspicious .In an audio recording circulating on WeChat a spokesperson for the zoo confirmed the bear was real.

Finally, this week another zoo tried again to make a small dog into a Panda with paint. That was not appreciated by that zoo’s customers. No wonder the folks are doubtful.

Zoo jokes

Why couldn’t the Chinese zoo reveal the name and home location of its newest animal?
HIPPO compliance.

The zoo was so hot…
The water buffalo at the zoo evaporated.

I have the memory of an elephant.
I remember one time I went to the zoo and saw an elephant.

My father would take me to the zoo every week.
He said he hoped my real parents would claim me.

October 15th Birthdays

/1942 – Penny Marshall,  1981 – Keyshia Cole, 1969 – Paige Davis, 1969 – Vanessa Marcil

1996 – William Brent,  1996 – Billy Unger,  1959 – Emeril Lagasse, 1974 – Paul Logan

Morning Motivator: