An aquarium in China has come under fire for its new whale shark attraction, with furious guests demanding an “on-the-spot” refund.
Xiaomeisha Ocean World in Shenzhen reopened to much fanfare earlier this month after a five-year renovation.
The 60,000-square-meter marine park attracted some 100,000 visitors during its seven-day trial run.
But many were left disappointed after their star attraction, the whale shark, turned out to be a robot.
Snapshots taken through the glass of the large tank show how the sea creature is clearly a man-made imitation, with gaps in the body visibly showing that different pieces have been joined together.
We’ll need a bigger robot… A Shenzhen aquarium received backlash after visitors noticed their whale shark was actually a robot.
Several angry visitors have been demanding refunds.
Xiaomeisha Ocean World said it had displayed the robot because it is now banned from trading live whale sharks.
Visitors were reportedly furious after paying the equivalent of £30 per ticket to see what was actually a robot.
Someone wrote in a scathing review: “The park is not big enough, even the whale shark is artificial.”
“At 3:00 p.m., people were already asking for refunds on the spot.”
Another reviewer wrote: ‘The most disappointing part was the whale shark exhibit.
‘When I heard the name, I was full of anticipation, but when I arrived, I saw a mechanical whale shark.
“Although it is for the sake of animal protection, I would rather they have none than show a fake one.”
“It’s not interesting at all.”
The same visitor also criticized the marine park’s live fish, writing: “The care of the fish was not professional enough.”
‘I noticed that some of the fish in the tanks had white spots.
“Most people wouldn’t realize it, but anyone who has kept tropical fish knows it’s white spot disease.
“Some of the fish didn’t seem to be in good health.”
Xiaomeisha Ocean World said it had displayed the robot because the trade in live whale sharks is now banned.
The images show how the sea creature is clearly a man-made imitation, with gaps in the body visibly showing that different pieces have been joined together.
The whale shark is the largest known extant species of fish. The largest confirmed individual was 18.8 meters long.
The robot shark reportedly cost millions of Chinese yuan to build.
Xiaomeisha Ocean World is not the first Chinese animal park to leave visitors feeling let down.
This is not the first time an animal adventure park has faced backlash in China.
Last month, a Chinese zoo sparked a furor after painting dogs in black and white and presenting them as pandas.
Visitors said they became suspicious when the pandas began panting in their enclosure.
When asked, the zoo admitted that they had dyed two Chow Chows, a type of dog from northern China with a thick coat.
The zoo, however, denied having misled people as it never claimed the dogs were pandas, explaining that they were “panda dogs.”
Since then, visitors have demanded their money back from the Guangdong Shanwei park, which claims to house “rare and exotic animals”.
The Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu province also sparked a furore in May when it also allegedly dyed two small Chow Chow dogs to look like pandas.
These dogs had their coats clipped before black and white dye was added to their faces and bodies.
The attraction was quickly criticized by locals who accused the zoo of animal cruelty.
The zoo defended showing the “panda dogs” as they do not have any of the real animals for visitors to see.