Chinese zoo denies its bears are humans in bear costumes

A Chinese zoo denied its bears are humans wearing costumes after a video of one of the bears standing on its hind legs went viral.

An undated video shows the bear standing up on its slender hind legs and looking back at the crowd at the Hangzhou Zoo before sitting back down and crawling away on all fours. The bear’s upright posture and bunched-up fur led to rampant speculation.

The zoo in the eastern Zhejiang province said on its WeChat social media account that the sun bears are from Malaysia and look somewhat different than larger bears species. The endangered species are about the size of a large dog, the zoo said.

“Some people think I stand like a person,” reads the post, written from Angela the bear’s point of view. “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. We Malayan bears are petite, the smallest bear in the world.”

Jiang Zhi, deputy director of the Hangzhou Zoo, said the species was originally misidentified as a black bear, likely adding to the confusion.

A zoo spokesperson told the Associated Press it was arranging for reporters to visit and check on the bears.

In the past, Chinese zoos have been accused of passing off dogs dyed to look like wolves and lions and donkeys painted with zebra stripes.

With News Wire Services