A zoo in China has refused to grin and bear it after video of one of its bears standing on its hind legs went viral — forcing officials to deny it was a human in a costume.
Hangzhou Zoo addressed the wild allegations in a statement pretending to be from Angela, the Malaysian sun bear seen standing up and staring at bemused-looking visitors.
Hangzhou Zoo Statement
“Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well."
Hangzhou Zoo Statement
“Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise.'”
That forced zookeepers to note that the sun bears from Malaysia are smaller than other bears and have a different appearance — but are just as real.
Officials also said that a human inside a fuzzy costume would never survive summer temps soaring to more than 100 degrees.
Hangzhou Zoo Spokesperson
“If a person did wear a bear costume, they would be lying down within minutes due to the heat."