Donkeys hired as zebras

In Gaza, there's a shortage of zebras. Donkeys get dye-job, take on zebra role:Two white donkeys dyed with black stripes delighted Palestinian kids at a small Gaza zoo on Thursday who had never seen a zebra in the flesh.

Nidal Barghouthi, whose father owns the Marah Land zoo, said the two female donkeys were striped using masking tape and women's hair dye, applied with a paint-brush.

'The first time we used paint but it didn't look good,' he said. 'The children don't know so they call them zebras and they are happy to see something new.'

A genuine zebra would have been too expensive to bring into Israel-blockaded Gaza via smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt, said owner Mohammed Bargouthi. 'It would have cost me $40,000 to get a real one.'