A sun bear in Hangzhou Zoo, China, recently became the target of media attention, after a video of it standing up and interacting with zoo visitors drew suspicion that it was a costumed performer.

However, the zoo has since rubbished these allegations, asserting that the animal is one of two sun bears that joined the zoo in 2020.

Another zoo staff commented that no one in their right mind would spend hours in a bear costume in the intense summer heat.

Viral videos of bear sparked debate

Videos of the bear began circulating as early as July 27, with some online users suspecting that the "popular" sun bear, which was friendly with visitors, was actually a person in costume, reported Hangzhou Daily.

A video reposted to Twitter, for instance, showed the bear standing on its two hind legs in the exhibit, while facing a crowd of visitors gathered around the edge of its enclosure.

What especially drew users' attention were the folds of skin around the animal's lower back and rear.

共匪🇨🇳動物園

動物🐻都是假的

人穿黑熊套皮毛被大陸人發現

共匪邪教鍋什麼都能造假 pic.twitter.com/mOy6J51zIp

— 少俠 (@shaoxia33139500) July 30, 2023

According to Zhejiang News, the controversial video stirred up a flurry of debate online, with some users commenting that the folds on the bear's lower body looked uncannily like a loose-fitting costume.

Other users, however, criticised the suspicions as "ridiculous", saying that it was clearly a sun bear.

It's one of our two sun bears: Hangzhou Zoo

On July 29, Hangzhou Zoo put an end to the debate by categorically denying the allegations that the sun bear was a person in costume.

A zoo staff told BRTV, a Beijing-based news network, that the bear was definitely a real animal, and asserted that as a state-run zoo, there was no way that they would let a human being masquerade as an animal.

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

The zoo's deputy director, Jiang Zhi, explained to Hangzhou Daily that the bear in question, a Malayan sun bear, has a slimmer physique than the other two species of bears at the zoo, the black bear and brown bear.

When asked why the bear was standing in the video, he said that along with other species of bears, as well as lions and tigers, the sun bear is able to stand on its two hind legs.

Additionally, sun bears tend to be mild-tempered, and may occasionally stand up when interacting with visitors.

Jiang also pointed out that the zoo's two sun bears, a male named "Da Lu" and a female named "Angela", are newer additions that joined the zoo in 2020, so some visitors might not be as familiar with them.

Strange animal exhibits at China zoos

This is not the first time China zoos have come under fire for questionable animal exhibits.

In 2021, a zoo in Xichang faced backlash after an African lion exhibit was found to contain a golden retriever instead.

A zoo staff insisted that the cage used to house a lion which had been moved elsewhere, but there were reportedly no other lions seen at the zoo.

The zoo eventually apologised.

And earlier in 2019, a zoo in Changzhou sparked controversy after workers were seen wearing full-body gorilla costumes and jumping around in the gorilla enclosure, according to the Daily Mail.

The zoo defended itself on social media, explaining that the "human gorillas" were actors participating in a special programme to entertain tourists on April Fool's Day.

It added that it had not expected the arrangement to cause misunderstanding from visitors.

Top image from Weibo.