Real Sun Bear or Animal Impersonation?

Earlier this year, in July, people were preoccupied with a rare sight. In some videos that were posted on the Chinese blogging site “Weibo”, people reported seeing a bear who was standing on his back feet and… waving?

The news immediately went viral as people could not believe their eyes and started conspiring about whether the bear was an actual animal, or this was a human performing animal impersonation.

The Mystery Behind the Chinese Sun Bear

Once the video was posted, people couldn’t stop wondering why the sun bear didn’t look like a normal bear. The video immediately gained traction as people started wondering whether the bear was even real, to begin with.

The main confusion came as the bear was seen standing with perfect posture, waving to the visitors and even having folds in his skin that made it look like a costume. That’s when speculations started and people wanted to know whether the animal was actually a person in a bear suit.

Although this might sound unserious to casual readers, this would not be the first time this is happening in a Chinese Zoo. In 2013, a zoo in Henan tried to trick people into believing that a Tibetan Mastiff dog was a lion. Visitors back then claimed that they were surprised to hear the supposed lion “barking”.

A similar situation was at another Chinese zoo, where people saw a golden retriever being portrayed as an African lion as well.

The Chinese Zoo Responds

The zoo located in eastern China has refuted the claims that the bears in its care were actually humans in costumes.

In an amusing twist, the officials at the Hangzhou Zoo responded with a statement voiced from the perspective of a sun bear named “Angela.” With this, they highlighted that there was a lack of understanding regarding the species of the sun bear.

The statement humorously showed Angela’s perspective: “I’m Angela the sun bear – I got a call after work yesterday from the head of the zoo asking if I was being lazy and skipped work today and found a human to take my place. Let me reiterate again to everyone that I am a sun bear – not a black bear, not a dog – a sun bear!”

What are sun bears?

Sun bears are specifically native to South East Asian tropical forests and are considered the world’s smallest group of bear species. In contrast to other bear counterparts, sun bears do not hibernate and can be distinguished by their amber-hued fur and crescent-shaped fur patterns across their chests. They also have longer tongues which allow them to easily extract honey from hives. This has earned them the adoring name of honey bears in Malaysia and Indonesia!

As of now, sun bears are considered at high-risk for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are currently being protected in their native countries. In their natural habitats, these creatures are endangered by both poaching and deforestation, causing a distressing 35% population decrease over the past thirty years. Conservation organizations, such as the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC) in Sabah, Malaysia, have been vocal about these concerns. The center currently takes care of 43 Sun Bears.

All in all, it’s interesting to note that since the sun bears are such a rare species, to begin with, people had trouble knowing whether the actual bear in the zoo was real or not. It’s important to read and learn more about the world around us to avoid being swayed by strange theories online. How about you, did you think this was a sun bear or a human in a costume?