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HANGZHOU: A captive bear has sparked a row in China as suspicious observers claimed it is simply a zoo employee in an elaborate animal suit.
A video shows the bear with bizarre wrinkly fur and slender legs reaching up to catch a snack thrown into its enclosure at Hangzhou Zoo and failing to hold on to it.
The video sparks rumours that the bear is, in fact, a human in disguise. The zoo addressed the controversy and said that such deception would not happen at a state-run facility and the bears were real animals.
The bear is seen on video from the back, standing on two legs like a person and waving its arms around, trying to catch food thrown in by visitors. It then fails to catch a snack thrown in by the crowd and then sits on a rock.
Many Chinese social media users questioned whether the zoo’s bears were real or rather “humans in disguise”. The zoo has arranged visits for reporters to personally observe the bears
The zoo’s spokesperson said a human in a fur bear suit would not last more than a few minutes in the extreme 40 degrees summer temperatures.
The bear in question was a sun bear which is the size of a large dog, standing at most 1.3 meters (4ft 3″) tall on its hind legs. They are the smallest of the bear species and native to Southeast Asia. Grizzlies and other species can be as tall as 2.8 metres (9ft).
Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats.
In 2019, two zoo workers at Yancheng Wild Animal World in Changzhou, China, were seen wearing gorilla costumes and jumping around. Following complaints, the zoo reportedly stated that it was an April Fools’ prank.
