A video of a bear at a Chinese zoo has gone viral in recent days, as debate rages over whether the animal is in fact a human wearing a costume.
Originally released last Friday, the video shows a bear standing on its hind legs inside its enclosure at Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang province as visitors looked on.
Due to the bear's humanlike stance and folds of loose skin on its lower back, people online have questioned the animal's authenticity.
The zoo responded in a light-hearted manner, with Reuters reporting that it had posted a statement on WeChat role-playing as the bear.
“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, and had hired a two-legged animal to replace me,” it read.
“Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well.”
Zookeepers told the local newspaper Hangzhou Daily that the sun bear, which comes from Malaysia, is smaller than other bears and has a different appearance.
Sun bears, which are the smallest bears in the world, are only about the size of a large dog.
It added that local temperatures, which have reached almost 34°C in recent days, would make any bear costume-wearing human extremely uncomfortable.
London Zoo animal X-rays - in pictures
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An X-ray of a Western diamondback rattlesnake taken by London Zoo's veterinary team while caring for its 14,000 animals from 400 species. PA -
The reptile as it is usually seen. The zoo released a series of X-rays of exotic creatures to showcase its work over the past decade. Reuters -
An X-ray of a Moholi bushbaby at the zoo. PA -
The bushbaby in its natural habitat. Getty -
An X-ray of a parrot finch at the zoo. PA -
The parrot finch shows its true colours. Photo: Wikimedia Commons -
An X-ray of a meerkat in the zoo's care. PA -
The meerkat is a familiar zoo favourite. AFP -
An X-ray of a Cape porcupine's skull. PA -
The porcupine is native to central and southern Africa. Getty -
The zoo's X-ray of a pygmy slow loris. PA -
A baby slow loris clings on to its mother's back. The squirrel-sized creatures are the only venomous primates. AFP -
A zoo X-ray of a big-headed turtle. PA -
The zoo's big-headed turtle shows how it got its name. AFP -
An X-ray of a mountain chicken frog taken by London Zoo vets. PA -
The endangered mountain chicken frog is native to the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Montserrat. Photo: Luke Brannon/ Mountain Chicken Recovery Programme
