Zoogoers can bear that it’s real.
A zoo in China has refused to smile and bear it after a video of one of its bears standing on its hind legs went viral, forcing officials to deny it was a human in costume.
Hangzhou Zoo addressed the wild allegations in a statement pretending it was from Angela, the Malaysian sun bear seen standing and looking at visitors with a bewildered look.
“Some people think I’m a person. You don’t seem to understand me very well,” the statement read.
The video of the bear drew attention when viewers noticed its slender legs and folds of fur that make the creature look like a person in a bear costume.
The local Hangzhou newspaper first drew attention, writing: “Due to their situation, some people online are wondering if they are ‘humans in disguise.’
This forced zookeepers to notice that Malaysian sun bears are smaller than other bears and look different, but they are just as real.
Officials also said a human inside a fuzzy costume would never survive summer temperatures that soar above 100 degrees.
“If a person wore a bear costume, they would be lying down within minutes due to the heat,” a spokesman said.
An employee who answered the phone at the zoo declined to discuss the bears, but said tours were being arranged for reporters to see them Monday.
Sun bears, the smallest bears in the world, are only the size of a large dog.
At their largest, they stand about 50 inches tall while standing on their hind legs, compared to grizzly bears, which can grow up to 9 feet tall.
Other Chinese zoos have also been accused of misleading guests about their animals, with allegations including dyeing dogs to look like wolves or African cats and painting donkeys to look like zebras.
With post cables
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