Video Showing Bear Waving At Zoo Visitors Causes Divide Online
By Jason Hall
August 2, 2023
A zoo in China issued a statement on the validity of a viral video in which a bear was seen standing on its hind legs and waving at visitors.
The Hangzhou Zoo wrote a response in the perspective of Angela, the Malayan Sun Bear that critics believed looked suspiciously like a human in a bear costume.
"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, so I hired two legs (a human) to replace me," the translated post states. "Unexpectedly, I was sitting in the mountains, and hot searches fell from the sky. Some people think that I am popular when I stand up. It seems that you don't know me too well. Think about it, there were tourists who thought I was petite and not a bear...Let me emphasize again: I am a sun bear! Not a black bear! Not a dog! It's a sun bear!"
This is a real bear, not a human dressed in costumes! A four-year-old Malayan sun bear named Angela in a Hangzhou zoo went viral on China's social media as a video showed the world's smallest bear standing upright and waving to tourists just like a human. pic.twitter.com/Azv2tTVJhv
— Yicai Global 第一财经 (@yicaichina) August 1, 2023
Paradise Wildlife Park, a zoo in the United Kingdom joined in on the speculation, posting a clip of its own sun bear showing human-like behaviors with the caption, "We can confirm that Kyra is a sun bear."
Sun bears get their name from the golden patches of fur on their chests and are typically about half the size of American black bears, growing to be about 4 to 5 feet tall and weigh between 60 to 150 lbs.