Zoo in China denies allegations that bear in viral clip is a human in a bear suit
A clip of a bear in a zoo enclosure is making the rounds on social media after viewers suggested that the animal might actually be a human in a bear suit.
In the video shared on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, the bear can be seen standing straight on two hind legs and waving at visitors at Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang province in China. The bear’s wrinkled fur and human-like stance sparked debate online about whether visitors were actually looking at the zoo’s Malayan sun bear named Angela, or a staff member in a bear suit, reports Reuters.
But the zoo denies the rumours, insisting that Angela is “definitely not human.”
In an interview with local media, a representative stated, “Our zoo is government-run, so that kind of situation would not happen. The temperature in the summer is nearly 40 degrees, if you put on a fur suit, you certainly couldn’t last more than a few minutes without lying down.”
Watch the clip below:
A Malaysian sun bear at Hangzhou Zoo has gone viral for its human-like stance as it stood upright and waved to greet visitors. pic.twitter.com/p3bknJDTCq
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) August 1, 2023
But it’s certainly been great publicity for Hangzhou Zoo.
The bear has become so popular that Chao News reports that curious visitors have flocked to see the bear in person, drawing as many as 20,000 curious visitors a day, boosting zoo attendance by 30%.
A visitor told a local TV station that they caught a train and headed to the zoo just to see the bear after seeing the clip online.
“We travelled overnight last night to get here,” said Qian Ming. “The bears are so cute.”
After all the debate online, another visitor with the last name You, wanted to see the bear for himself.
“I wanted to see how it looks in real life, so I came here,” he said.
But viewers’ skepticism isn’t entirely unfounded.
Hangzhou Zoo (StaryKierowca/Shutterstock)
In 2013, a zoo in a park in Henan province drew the ire of visitors when an animal marked as an African lion let out a bark. The animal turned out to be a breed of dog called a Tibetan mastiff, reported CNN.
The head of the park’s animal department stated that the lion had been moved for breeding, and the dog was only in the cage temporarily “due to safety concerns.”
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