A zoo has been accused of overfeeding their animals after visitors were left shocked by an overweight big cat.
In the footage, taken at the Chengdu Zoo in southwestern China, a black panther can be seen hiding behind a tree with only its extremely large belly visible.
Despite typically having a top speed of up to 50mph, this black panther is only able to waddle across the enclosure at a snail’s pace.
It appears to be having difficulty walking as the feline heaves its feet across the floor, with its belly nearly touching the ground.
The Chengdu Zoo, which is the fourth largest zoo in China, told local media that the big cat’s portly appearance is because it is very old.
According to the zoo, the female cat in the footage is 16-years-old and they also have a male black panther which is 20-years-old.
They have also acknowledged that the animal’s body functions and metabolism were not good.
However, another report quoted the zoo as saying that the animals were too fat because they ate too much, with a keeper saying: ‘We are reducing the amount of food! We will start by reducing the beef and other things.’
Despite typically having a top speed of up to 50mph, this black panther is only able to waddle across the enclosure at a snail’s pace
The Chengdu Zoo, which is the fourth largest zoo in China, told local media that the big cat’s portly appearance is because it is very old
Meanwhile, social media users have been left amazed at the black panther’s belly, with one saying: ‘I laughed hard. I thought she was pregnant, but it turned out that she was overweight. Please ask her to exercise more.’
In recent years Chinese zoos have sparked a number of controversies over their treatment on animals.
The Qinhu Bay Forest Animal Kingdom zoo, in Taizhou, was ridiculed online after it was revealed that the zoo’s tigers were in fact Chow Chow dogs covered in black and orange stripes.
The zoo is not the only facility in China to get caught up in fake animal scandal.
Back in September, visitors demanded their money back from a zoo in Guangdong after they were misled into thinking that the pandas on display were in fact pandas.
After relentless quizzing by local media, the zoo was forced to admit that they had dyed two Chow Chows.
Taizhou Zoo in Jiangsu Province also sparked fury last May when it too allegedly dyed small Chow Chow dogs to look like pandas.
These dogs had their fur trimmed short before black and white dye was added to their face and body.
