A Chinese zoo has denied that its sun bear is actually a human in a costume after footage of one standing on its hind legs raised online accusations of a furry imposter.
A video clip of a bear rearing up and interacting with a group of people at Hangzhou Zoo went viral on Chinese social media.
Many people posted comments doubting that the bear was real, with some alleging that its bipedal posture and wrinkled skin suggested it was actually a human in costume.
Photo: Reuters
However, the zoo dismissed the rumors, saying in a statement written from the bear’s perspective on Sunday that Angela, its name, was real and its detractors “really don’t understand me.”
“The zoo director called me after work yesterday and asked if I’d been slacking off by finding a two-legged beast to replace me,” the statement said.
“Some people thought the way I stand up looks too human ... so I will stress again: I’m a sun bear,” it said.
Local media quoted a zoo staff member saying that the hot weather defied the costume accusations.
“The temperature in the summer is nearly 40°C. If you put on a fur suit, you certainly could not last more than a few minutes without lying down,” the staff member was quoted as saying.
“Our zoo is government-run, so that kind of situation would not happen,” they said.
Native to Southeast Asia, sun bears are named for a patch of bright orange or cream-colored chest fur that stands out against the rest of its jet-black coat.
It is the smallest bear — about the size of a large dog — and is listed as a vulnerable species due to deforestation and the global wildlife trade.
There was an upside for the zoo as the reports led to a surge in visitor numbers.
Visitor numbers had increased by about 30 percent to 20,000 a day since the video began trending, Chao News reported.
“After seeing this bear standing up on the Internet, I wanted to see how it looks in real life, so I came here,” said a man surnamed You, who said he had only half-believed the video he saw online, Chao News reported.
“After we saw the video on the Internet, we took the high-speed train from Suzhou to come over to see the bear,” another visitor, Qian Ming, told a Hangzhou TV station. “We traveled overnight last night to get here. The bears are so cute.”
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