Tens of thousands of people turn up at zoo in China to see 'man bear'

1 August 2023, 13:45

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Thousands have descended on a Chinese zoo which was forced to deny that one of its bears is secretly a human being in costume.

Footage of the 'bear' went viral on Chinese social media, with a number of observers pointing out its unusual posture and body language.

The video has people convinced Hangzhou Zoo has got one of its employees to dress up as a bear.

One person said: "Bears’ forelimbs cannot be spread out to the sides. This is undoubtedly a human being.”

The zoo furiously hit back, insisting the bear is actually a bear.

Since the footage went viral, the zoo's visitor numbers have seen a 30 per cent jump, rising above 20,000 daily, Zhejiang-based Chao News reports.

After visiting the zoo to see the sun bear for himself, one person commented on Chinese social media site Weibo: "If this is fake it deserves an Oscar for special effects."

"We travelled overnight last night to get here. The bears are so cute," another said.

Read More: 'This is undoubtedly a human being': Chinese zoo furiously denies bear is secretly a human in costume

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Yesterday, the zoo was forced to deny their sun bears are human beings in costume.

"Our zoo is government-run, so that kind of situation would not happen," a spokesman said.

"In the summer, temperatures can rise to nearly 40C. If a person did wear a bear costume, they would be lying down within minutes due to the heat."

In a separate video, imitating the bear's voice, the spokesperson said: "Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well."

According to the zoo's deputy director, Jiang Zhi, the bear has a slimmer physique than other black or brown bears.

The sun bear is smaller than a grizzly bear, standing at around 1.3m. That's significantly smaller than the 2.8m grizzly bears stand at, Zhi said.

It is not the first time an animal has been pointed out as a suspected human being at a zoo in China.

In 2019, gorillas at Changzhou zoo were actually humans in costumes. It was apparently an April Food's day prank.