Chinese Zoo Denies Claims that Its Bears Are Humans In Disguise

The Hangzhou Zoo in Eastern China denied the claim following a viral video showing one of the zoo's sun bears standing on its hind legs

A zoo in Eastern China has shut down suggestions online that their bears are actually humans dressed in bear costumes.

The Hangzhou Zoo addressed the claims after a viral video on social media that showed a zoo sun bear standing on its hind legs led to some suspicions among viewers, the Associated Press reported.

"Some people think I stand like a person," the zoo said in a statement written from the bear's perspective on Monday, per AP. "It seems you don't understand me very well."

Sun bears are an endangered species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia in such countries as Malaysia and Thailand.

A zoo spokesperson also confirmed that the bears are real in an audio recording discovered on WeChat, The Guardian reported.

According to the outlet, the spokesperson said that no such trickery would be tolerated at Hangzhou Zoo as a state-run facility. They added that a person sporting a bear costume at the zoo "would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing" in Eastern China's extreme summer temperatures.

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Fans shared their reactions to the viral clip of the bear at the Hangzhou Zoo on social media.

"Who needs AI when u have fake bears IRL," one person wrote after Singapore's English-language news site, Today Online, shared the video on its Twitter page.

"Looks more like a bear on all fours, but it definitely looks like a person," another commented"

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"The bent and rise back up tell clearly it isn't a human," one user argued.

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"Bears can stand upright, they copy behavior from people after a long time," a fourth explained. "Plus I haven't seen anyone in an animal suit that actually tries to catch a snack with the mouth, then to pick it up with his mouth and actually eat it. People gotta stop with the conspiracies."

Following the interest in the species at the zoo, a Hangzhou zoo employee told AP that visits are being arranged for reporters to check out the sun bears for themselves.

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