A zoo in eastern China became embroiled in controversy after some visitors reported that its Malayan bears are not real animals but humans in disguise. Some images have even gone viral on social networks showing one of the bears standing on its hind legs.
The Malayan bear at the Hangzhou Zoo in the eastern province of Zhejiang has become an Internet sensation because of videos and images that have circulated showing the animal standing like a person and even making gestures similar to greetings.
Users of social networks said that in addition to the postures assumed by the bear, other indications are: its small size and the folds of fur around its hips appear to be from a cloth suit.
A video of a bear standing in Hangzhou, China, swept through social media with conspiracy theories it was a human in a suit. The zoo tried to clear things up by releasing a statement in the bear’s voice. “I am a Malayan sun bear!” https://t.co/pJ36hDWhhM pic.twitter.com/1pJL6zwM0S
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 1, 2023
Hangzhou issues a statement
Following the doubts that the zoo’s images were causing, Hangzhou decided to issue a statement clarifying that its Malayan bear is real.
“Some people think I stand like a human, and it seems that you don’t understand me that much,” reads the text, in which they explain that the bear’s name is Angela and that it is, in fact, the world’s smallest Ursidae species.
This is a real bear, not a human dressed in costumes! A four-year-old Malayan sun bear named Angela in a Hangzhou zoo went viral on China's social media as a video showed the world's smallest bear standing upright and waving to tourists just like a human. pic.twitter.com/Azv2tTVJhv
— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina) August 1, 2023
“The body structure of our bear family is that we can stand on our hind legs (...) Our hair is a jet-black short down, very shiny, our eyes are small, and our ears are also small. We also have a tail, but the tail is very small, about the same length as the ears,” the zoo published, adding that the height and size of such bears can be compared to that of a large dog.
Experts chime in
Dr. Ashleigh Marshall, Chester Zoo Expert, explained that these bears were definitely real and clarified that the folds of skin that form on the back of the bear serve as a defense against other large animals.
“Sun bears are the least known bears in the world. I believe the incident could call people’s attention on how sun bears may look like humans and hopefully could [let people know] that they are endangered species because of human activities,” biologist Wong Siew Te told NBC News.
