Sunday Rerun: Donkey Kong

Sometimes we fake it until we make it, and buy that knockoff "Rolex" watch from a guy on the street to impress one and all with our expensive tastes.

And some people, desperate to overcome their stubby-fingeredness and vulgar roots, claim to have a Renoir, knowing all along that it's a copy.

We feel sorry for these people, and now we have more people to shake our heads about.

Claims are being made that a zoo in Egypt is showing off a fake donkey.

I mean, is there any end to this chicanery?

It all started when 18-year-old student Mahmoud Sarhan, a student, was visiting the International Garden in Nasr City, Cairo. He saw what the zoo purported to be a zebra, but Mahmoud knows a donkey when he sees one, and in a hugely ironic role reversal, became the one to throw a penalty flag at someone in a striped outfit.


Sarhan got a selfie with the bogus zebra. The picture clearly shows black smudges on the face of the poor beast.

He told Sky News: "From the first sight I knew that it was a donkey, not a zebra, as I'm an artist. I know the shape of a donkey and I know the shape of zebras, so it was easy to know."

The photo below shows what a real self-respecting zebra looks like. He has clear-cut stripes and a darker mouth and snout than the imitation.

As soon as Mr Sarhan shared his picture on social media, the race was on to find out what was up. The zoo's director, Mohamed Sultan, told radio station Nogoumfm.net that his zebra was for real and not a sham.

Meanwhile, a local veterinarian who only wishes to be identified as "Dr N" told Egyptian news site Extranews.tv that this animal lacked the black nose and mouth common to zebras.



You can look at the two pictures and compare for yourself. As of now, the whole matter is he said-he said, and who knows where it will go.

I can only hope that no charges are brought, so no one will have to wear the stripes of shame.