Trending in Beijing: The Dog Raised By Tigers, Great Wall Hike Gone Wrong
A dog among lions fears no cat
Netizens were baffled last week by a video of a dog playfully wrestling with lions and tigers in the Beijing Wildlife Zoo in Daxing district making the rounds online.
“How can this dog go up to these fierce animals and not fear being eaten,” commenters endlessly queried. But over the weekend, zoo officials responded with an answer no one expected.
The dog, it turns out, actually grew up with the cats, and, according to officials, the zoo’s family of magna feles actually consider the dog a sibling. Strangely enough, the official went on to claim that cats drank the milk of the dog’s mother.
If that weren’t interesting enough, as it turns out, when a dog grows up with lions and tigers, the puppy has a major advantage over the cubs in play fighting. This imprints on the cats’ subconscious that the dog is stronger, perhaps even invincible, and this impression lasts even after the cats outgrow the canine.
The official noted that the animals had been cohabitating for about eight years now, which at least one netizen took with hint of sadness. “So that means they are all in their later years of life.” Indeed, tigers tend to live about eight to ten years, while both dogs and lions enjoy a lifespan of about ten to 15 years.
That said, if you want to see this a dog raised by tigers in person, now’s the time to pay a visit to the Wildlife Zoo.
Beijing Consumer Association confirms our fears about online shopping
It’s an accusation that Taobao users have been levying for years – that big platforms like ele.me have been swindling users who use the platform regularly, charging them higher prices than newer customers.
This claim, that until recently was only evidenced by screenshots on Weibo, now appears to have the backing of the Beijing Consumer Association (BCA), who released a report on Tuesday with damning evidence against multiple such platforms.
The report’s data suggests that upwards of 60 percent of regular users are affected by price hikes in waimai, ride sharing, and travel ticketing platforms. In online shopping, the figure is upwards of 70 percent.
The BCA suggested that current laws and regulations are not sufficient to put a stop to the practice, but the timing of its report may have a significant impact on the companies, as we are less than two weeks away from World Consumer Rights Day, which is held annually on March 15, and companies will be desperate to avoid being named and shamed, as is the holiday’s tradition. (Yes, beware the ides of march, ye swindling corporations!)
Rescue mission on the Great Wall
Those of you hiking on the Great Wall, heed this cautionary tale! Last week, a group of 19 travelers embarked on a trek on a portion of the Wall in Miyun, but ended up staying much longer than expected when one of their group slipped and fell off the side. – a 30 meter tumble.
A team of nine firefighters was dispatched to the scene with haste, but their task was more complicated than fetching a fallen man. A portion of the hikers had gotten lost looking for their companion themselves, and they too needed rescuing as night fell over the thickly forested area. It took a full 12 hours to rescue all of them, bringing the mission to a close at 5am.
Commenters on Weibo were thoroughly unforgiving to the hikers, suggesting hefty fines and scolding their behavior as irresponsible.
“I find that it’s usually people without any experience who try to go hiking on these off-the-beaten-path segments of the wall,” wrote one user, adding, “If you’re inexperienced, don’t go bringing trouble to others.”
READ: What's New at the New Workers' Stadium?
Images: Weibo, Beijing Daily News, thepaper.cn, Beijing Evening News
