The news spread rapidly. Local media outlets ran headlines about a panda rescue. Officials even discussed plans to transport the animal to the Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung for expert care.
In June 2019, a seemingly heartwarming news story from Tainan, Taiwan, quickly turned into an international embarrassment and a case study in social media misinformation. The incident, widely dubbed the “Tainan Fake Panda Incident,” involved the discovery of what local authorities initially claimed was a rare, wild panda in a drainage ditch. tainan fake panda incident
The animal’s natural coloration is all-black with a distinctive cream or orange chest patch. The unknown perpetrator had used white paint or dye to create fake eye patches and a white torso, mimicking a panda’s markings. The news spread rapidly
Within hours, the story began to collapse. Wildlife experts and keen-eyed netizens noticed inconsistencies in the photographs released by the city government. The animal’s fur appeared too coarse, its snout too pointed, and its movements too agile for a typical giant panda, which is a lumbering, round-faced bear. In June 2019, a seemingly heartwarming news story
After intense public scrutiny and internal investigation, the Tainan City Agriculture Bureau admitted its error. The “panda” was not a bear at all. It was a ( Helarctos malayanus ) that had been painted black and white. The bear had likely escaped or been abandoned by an illegal exotic pet owner or a roadside zoo.