There was some drama at a Chinese zoo when one of its sun bears was mistaken for a human. The cause of the confusion was a camouflage outfit worn by a visitor that resembled the bear's appearance. This has caused some controversy and even required expert opinions to clarify the situation.
A Twitter video went viral featuring a bear standing upright, resembling a human. This has sparked curiosity as to whether sun bears have the ability to stand in a human-like position. The bear's appearance also resembled a human wearing bear clothing, with noticeable gaps around its stomach and armpits.
However, the zoo in eastern China immediately put out a statement, saying recent news of a human wearing a bear costume were lies.
"Some people think I stand like a human, and it seems you don’t understand me that much. Previously, some tourists thought that I was too tiny to be a bear. I have to emphasize again: I am a Malayan sun bear! Not a black bear! Not a dog! A sun bear!" the zoo said on its official social media account.
Reactions on Social Media
Especially on Twitter, the latest news immediately became a subject of discussion. Many things attracted social media users to the conversation. It was because of some of the properties seen in the bear. The first visible things were the wrinkles and folds on the Chinese zoo bear's body. These folds and wrinkles made the lower body of the bear look like ill-fitted clothing.
A Twitter user reacted to the trending video, saying, "Wrinkly seat happens when the back rise is too long. requires a tailor to shorten the back rise by pinning the pants up to the waistband, removing excess material, and then dropping the crotch seam, so as to not give the wearer a wedgie."
Watch the uncanny clip here
https://youtu.be/fr2v4327AXs
Expert Opinions on the Latest Development
According to Wong Siew Te, a wildlife biologist and the founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Malaysia, the animal seen in the viral video was indeed a sun bear. Many people might believe Wong Siew Te because he has over 25 years of experience researching sun bears.
The expert said the animal that appeared in the video was a sun bear. The only issue was that sometimes, sun bears tend to behave like humans. They can stand like humans and even walk for some meters on their hind feet. "Sun bears could be very human-like. They stand like humans and walk like humans," Wong said.
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Additionally, Wong added he was happy that the incident had drawn the attention of many humans to how sun bears behave.
"Sun bears are the least known bears in the world. I believe the incident could call people’s attention on how sun bears may look like humans and hopefully could [let people know] that they are endangered species because of human activities," Wong added.
Sun bears are facing extinction due to the adverse effects of deforestation and excessive hunting on the environment.