Hangzhou Zoo has reassured visitors that its sun bears are not humans in disguise or in animal costumes and are indeed real.
This comes after a video of the bear went viral, with many speculating that the bear could be a person in an animal costume due to the way it is standing upright and the appearance of bagging skin.
In the video, the bear can be seen standing on its hind legs and facing zoo visitors inside its enclosure.
@k0pinions The bear could do some squats though #China #Hangzhou #zoo #sunbear #costume #accusations #viral #weibo #video #news #中国 ♬ original sound - Kopinions
Social media users called the bear ‘scary’ while others humorously said it has an ‘identity crisis’ that lived in uncanny valley.
According to the zoo, sun bears are usually the size of a large dog, making it the smallest bear species in the world.
When standing on their hind legs, it can be up to 1.3 metres tall.
Hangzhou Zoo released a post from the perspective of the sun bear, which they called Angela, saying people ‘don’t understand the species.’
“Some people think I stand like a person....It seems you don’t understand me very well. When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and astonishing power...but not all bears are behemoths and danger personified.”
Sadly they are an endangered species and are native to the rainforests of South East Asia.
IOL