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Zoo denies rumors that its bear is a human in disguise
by Lyric Li | Washington Post | August 1st, 2023China’s latest internet sensation, Angela, has been taken for many things: A black bear, a large dog and, most recently, a person in a bear costume, after a video of the sun bear standing upright and interacting with visitors went viral.
In a 15-second clip posted on July 27 to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the slender Malayan sun bear can be seen standing on her hind legs and watching a small crowd expectantly from her enclosure, sometimes raising her paws as if waving to visitors.
A Malayan sun bear stood on her hind legs and watched a small crowd around her zoo enclosure on July 27 in Hangzhou, China.
“Is it a summer intern?” a top comment asked. More chimed in, with one pointing out that the sagging skin around the bear’s hips resembles an ill-fitting bear suit and another saying the “stand-in” must be suffering in the heavy costume.
The video had more than 30 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
Hangzhou Zoo, in eastern China, issued a statement to clarify that she is not actually a person.
“Some people thought I looked like a human when I stood up. Obviously, you guys know nothing about me,” the zoo posted to its social media accounts on Sunday, using the first-person perspective of the 4-year-old sun bear.
The Zhejiang Daily, a newspaper from the province where Hangzhou is located, reported that, in the days after the bear clips went viral, the number of visitors to the zoo increased by 30 percent, with many saying they were there for Angela.
A zoo employee reiterated to a Beijing TV station that Angela was not a human. “In 40-degree Celsius [104° F] summer heat, a human in a leather and fur suit would pass out in a few minutes,” he said, adding that using stand-ins “doesn’t normally happen in state-owned zoos.”
Wong Siew Te, a wildlife biologist who studies the sun bear and founded the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center in Malaysia, told The Washington Post that the sun bear at Hangzhou Zoo is “very much real.”
“This just shows how little the public know about the species,” he said. “Sun bears stand on their hind feet for a broader view of their surroundings, and those in captivity are used to interacting with humans because they expect food from visitors.”
The zoo, in a follow-up post, urged visitors to refrain from feeding the bears.
Some Chinese panda conservation centers have a history of dressing workers in panda suits to make the animals feel more relaxed.
There have also been cases of Chinese facilities using stand-ins or fake animals. In 2019, a privately owned safari park in the eastern province of Jiangsu caused a backlash after it allegedly hired an actor to play a gorilla.
In a 15-second clip posted on July 27 to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the slender Malayan sun bear can be seen standing on her hind legs and watching a small crowd expectantly from her enclosure, sometimes raising her paws as if waving to visitors.
A Malayan sun bear stood on her hind legs and watched a small crowd around her zoo enclosure on July 27 in Hangzhou, China.
“Is it a summer intern?” a top comment asked. More chimed in, with one pointing out that the sagging skin around the bear’s hips resembles an ill-fitting bear suit and another saying the “stand-in” must be suffering in the heavy costume.
The video had more than 30 million views as of Tuesday afternoon.
Hangzhou Zoo, in eastern China, issued a statement to clarify that she is not actually a person.
“Some people thought I looked like a human when I stood up. Obviously, you guys know nothing about me,” the zoo posted to its social media accounts on Sunday, using the first-person perspective of the 4-year-old sun bear.
The Zhejiang Daily, a newspaper from the province where Hangzhou is located, reported that, in the days after the bear clips went viral, the number of visitors to the zoo increased by 30 percent, with many saying they were there for Angela.
A zoo employee reiterated to a Beijing TV station that Angela was not a human. “In 40-degree Celsius [104° F] summer heat, a human in a leather and fur suit would pass out in a few minutes,” he said, adding that using stand-ins “doesn’t normally happen in state-owned zoos.”
Wong Siew Te, a wildlife biologist who studies the sun bear and founded the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center in Malaysia, told The Washington Post that the sun bear at Hangzhou Zoo is “very much real.”
“This just shows how little the public know about the species,” he said. “Sun bears stand on their hind feet for a broader view of their surroundings, and those in captivity are used to interacting with humans because they expect food from visitors.”
The zoo, in a follow-up post, urged visitors to refrain from feeding the bears.
Some Chinese panda conservation centers have a history of dressing workers in panda suits to make the animals feel more relaxed.
There have also been cases of Chinese facilities using stand-ins or fake animals. In 2019, a privately owned safari park in the eastern province of Jiangsu caused a backlash after it allegedly hired an actor to play a gorilla.
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