Why people are convinced this bear at zoo is actually a man in costume

If you go down in the woods today, you’d better go in disguise...

A Chinese zoo has had to reassure visitors that the animals in their sun bear enclosure are not ‘men in costumes’, after one was caught on camera standing on hind legs.

On Sunday the zookeepers at Hangzhou issued a statement in response to video clips of the animal, which had gone viral online.

Angela, the zoo’s lone Malaysian sun bear, has become the focus of intense scrutiny.

The small bears, native to south east Asia, are around the size of a large dog. Or a small person, when on hind legs.

Video clips on Chinese social media networks drew attention to the large feet and slender legs of the animal, which was recorded walking on two feet. The rolls of fur on the animal made some question whether it was a person, wearing an ill-fitting costume.

Last week local newspaper the Hangzhou Daily questioned whether the attraction was hoodwinking visitors.

“Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise,’” the newspaper said.

This weekend, the Hangzhou zoo issued a statement that the animals are “not well understood”, and the human-like stance was normal for the Malaysian bears.

An animal handler at the state-run zoo told Shanghai Daily it was too hot to pull off such a stunt, claiming anyone in a fur suit “would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing”.

The zoo declined to answer questions from Associated Press, but told the news agency that they would happily arrange a visit for reporters to see the bear for themselves.

Standing at up to 1.3 metres on their hind legs, they are relatively small compared to other species, like grizzlies which can stand up to 2.8 metres tall, according to the zoo.

Some were sceptical, with regional zoos having recently passed off imitations as exotic animals.

Previously zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats, reported Associated Press.

Palestinian children visiting the Marah Land Zoo outside Gaza City look at a donkey painted in a zebra-like pattern. Photo / AP, Hatem Moussa

In 2013 a Beijing zoo was accused of shaving a large Tibetan mastiff dog and trying to pass it for a Lion.

In 2018 a shelter in Cairo was accused of painting donkeys to look like zebras. Similarly in 2009 a Palestinian zoo near Gaza admitted dyeing stripes on donkeys after their resident zebras died of neglect, during the three-week Israel-Hamas conflict.

Animal rights group PETA has spoken out against the practise of disguising animals to fool the public as cruel. Subjecting them to chemicals like paint and the stress of the makeover was not the actions of a reputable animal care facility, they told CNN.

This article was first published in the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission. Additional reporting: AP