Envision yourself visiting the zoo and viewing amazing creatures up close, such as lions, elephants, and bears. Now picture one of those bears dressed up like a human bear!
A sun bear in a Chinese zoo stood on its hind legs and appeared so bizarre that onlookers speculated whether or not it was really a person dressed as a bear. A video of the bear went viral, generating widespread interest and discussion.
Video of the bear at the Hangzhou Zoo in Eastern China went viral when it was posted online. Some people didn’t believe it was a genuine bear since it didn’t look how they imagined a bear to look like.
Sun bears are basically a unique kind of bear, and we humans can find some of their antics amusing.
In the clip, the sun bear seems to be standing as straight as possible, and the loose skin just adds to the illusion that it is a human dressed as a bear.
People started wondering whether a zoo could get away with having a person act like a bear. Especially considering the sums of money some individuals spend on costumes depicting canine species.
However, the zoo has denied this. They’ve assured the public that Angela, the sun bear in question, is really an ordinary bear of that kind and not a person in disguise. She’s still a bear in heart, even if she does appear a little different.
The zoo said that sun bears are often misunderstood. People may not be familiar with this bear since it is the smallest kind of bear. According to the zoo, this uncertainty lies at the heart of people’s scepticism.
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 zoo’s director joked that the bear had hired a person to fill in for her for the day after she called in sick.
The zoo issued a statement from the bear’s perspective, expressing Angela’s thoughts and feelings. She made it clear in the statement that she is a sun bear and not a black bear or a dog.
To repeat, “I am a sun bear, not a black bear, not a dog, but a sun bear. The zoo educated the public that not all bears live up to the stereotype of being large and ferocious.
For instance, Malayan sun bears are the tiniest of all bears. The zoo hoped to show visitors that not all bears are massive and dangerous. Contrary to popular belief, Malayan bears are quite tiny and not particularly dangerous.
The Malayan sun bear’s plight is a sad one. The illegal killing of bears and the widespread felling of their native habitat have contributed to the plight of this species of bear.
There has been a 35% decline in the population of Malayan sun bears during the last 30 years. That’s a lot of bears—more than a third of them are extinct.
Wildlife researcher Wong Siew Te, who founded an organisation to rescue sun bears, has expressed concern that not enough people are aware of the species’ existence.
According to him, they’re an extinct breed. He told CNN that although all bears have the ability to stand on their hind legs, sun bears have a unique rationale for doing so.
They straighten up in order to better survey their immediate surroundings. Female sun bears are so humanlike that they walk upright with their young in their arms. That’s why, according to Wong, some individuals may mistakenly believe sun bears are human.
Wong also said that sun bears are often “fat and round,” but that when they are malnourished, their skin becomes saggy.
People speculated that the bear was really a human in costume, but a zoo employee dispelled the rumours.
They mentioned how uncomfortable it would be for a person to wear a bulky fur coat during the warm months.
The internet’s propagation of this sun-bear hoax has led to widespread consternation. The sun bear, however, is a kind of bear that is in dire need of assistance.
It’s important that more people become aware of its plight and take an interest in its future. So, feel free to spread the word about this fascinating bear.