Chinese zoo denies its sun bears are humans in costume. The internet is not so sure.
No, she's not a dog. Or a black bear.
She's definitely not a person dressed in an animal costume. At least her caretakers say so.
Her name is Angela, she's a Malayan Sun Bear at The Hangzhou Zoo and she's clapping back at critics after photos and video of her standing on her hind legs – and looking suspiciously human – have the internet questioning her identity.
In a statement written from the perspective of Angela, officials from the zoo in Eastern China responded to the rumors Sunday, denying she and her fellow zoo bear companions are human imposters.
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The Hangzhou Zoo says the sun bear is real
A post on the zoo website this week led with "I'm working hard, but someone suspects that I'm looking for a substitute?" The post is written in Chinese and Google translated to English.
This is a real bear, not a human dressed in costumes! A four-year-old Malayan sun bear named Angela in a Hangzhou zoo went viral on China's social media as a video showed the world's smallest bear standing upright and waving to tourists just like a human. pic.twitter.com/Azv2tTVJhv
— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina) August 1, 2023
It appears Angela was offended.
"Yesterday, after I got off work, I received a call from the director, asking me if I was lazy and did not go to work, so I hired two legs (a human) to replace me," the post reads. "Unexpectedly, I was sitting in the mountains, and hot searches fell from the sky. Some people think that I am popular when I stand up. It seems that you don't know me too well. Think about it, there were tourists who thought I was petite and not a bear!"
The statement then reiterated: "Let me emphasize again: I am a sun bear! Not a black bear! Not a dog! It's a sun bear!"
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Sun bears divide the internet
People took to social media this week with some saying it's a bear and others saying it's a human.
"The sun bear in China wasn't real. The head you can see was a mask. The eyes never moved," one user posted on X, formerly Twitter.
That #sunbear in China is obviously a man in a bear costume right?…..Right?
— GhostingItSlo (@ghosting_it_slo) August 1, 2023
"They are real," another user wrote.
Added another person, "Do people just not know what a sun bear looks like?"
do people just not know what a sunbear looks like?
— i so pale (@aahsoopayuhl) August 1, 2023
A zoo in the United Kingdom, Paradise Wildlife Park, shared a clip of one its sun bears, showing how the bears can exhibit human-like behaviors while standing.
"We can confirm that Kyra is a sun bear… 👀🧡," the zoo captioned the video.
What are sun bears?
According to National Geographic, sun bears are named for the golden patches of fur on their chests, which may resemble a rising sun.
Only about half the size of an American black bear, they have long tongues and grow anywhere from 4 to 5 feet in height and weigh between 60 to 150 pounds (males are usually larger).
Sun bears are omnivores and their average lifespan in the wild is 25 years.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese zoo's sun bears divide the internet: Real or human in costume?
