Is it a zebra -- or just the best re-creation available? Palestinian children at a Gaza City zoo take a look at a white donkey painted to resemble a zebra. (Mohammed Saber / EPA)
With their long ears, drooping heads and sleepy eyes, two white donkeys dyed with black stripes are standing in for zebras at a small Gaza zoo. (Mohammed Saber / EPA)
Mohammed Bargouthi, owner of the Marah Land zoo in Gaza City, said that because of Israel’s embargo on the Gaza Strip, it would have been too expensive to bring in real zebras. (Hatem Moussa / Associated Press)
The two female donkeys were striped using masking tape and women’s hair dye, applied with a paintbrush.
For comparison, click ahead to see some actual zebras.(Hatem Moussa / Associated Press)
Nidal Bargouthi, whose father owns the Marah Land zoo, said the children like the painted animals. “The children don’t know, so they call them zebras and they are happy to see something new,” he said. (Hatem Moussa / Associated Press)
For comparison, here are real zebras in their outdoor enclosure at a zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Volker Hartmann / AFP/Getty Images)
