Chinese zoo denies bear is actually a human in a costume

Video taken at the Hangzhou Zoo in eastern China has people wondering if the sun bear, pictured standing and looking at zoo patrons, was actually a person in costume.

The Malayan sun bear stood up on its hind legs at the Chinese zoo in Zhejiang and appeared almost as if it were a person wearing poorly fitted pants as part of a costume, NBC News reported.

“Some people think I stand like a human, and it seems that you don’t understand me that much,” Hangzhou Zoo wrote on its official social media account from the perspective of the bear.

“Previously, some tourists thought that I was too tiny to be a bear. I have to emphasize again: I am a Malayan sun bear! Not a black bear! Not a dog! A sun bear!” said the post.

Wong Siew Te, a wildlife biologist and founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Malaysia, told NBC News that it was "a sun bear for sure." He added that “sun bears could be very human-like. They stand like humans and walk like humans."

One man attempted to correlated the bear's alleged wrinkles with what pants with excess material look like: "Wrinkly seat happens when the back rise is too long. requires a tailor to shorten the back rise by pinning the pants up to the waistband, removing excess material, and then dropping the crotch seam, so as to not give the wearer a wedgie."

Another reader simply said that is "just how sun bears look unfortunately," with several attached photos of different sun bears.

Unfortunately for the zoo, Chinese zoos have been accused of faking their animals many times over the years. In 2013, multiple dogs were attempted to be passed off as lions by a private zoo at the People’s Park in Luohe, China.

A spokesperson for the park said, "We’re doing our best in tough economic times. If anyone is unhappy with our displays we will give back their money."

In 2019, a dog was seen in an enclosure marked as a "wolf" at the Mt. Jiufeng Forest Zoo in Wuhan. The zoo explained the dog had been a companion to a lone wolf who "couldn’t get along with other wolves."

A Rottweiler was pictured in an enclosure in Xiangwushan Zoo in Xianning, China, in 2021. A staff member reportedly explained that there had been a wolf previously, but he died of old age. The dog was allegedly a watchdog who was only to be in the cage temporarily.