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31st July 2023
06:43pm BST
A Chinese zoo has had to deny claims that one of its sun bears is actually just a human in a bear suit after photos of the animal were widely shared online.
The pictures showed the bear standing on its hind legs, looking remarkably similar to how a human would stand.
Meanwhile, the baggy skin around the animal's hips does give the impression of a person in an ill-fitting costume.
In a post on social media, the Hangzhou Zoo explained that sun bears are smaller and look different to other bears.
The post, which is weirdly written from the bear's point of view, reads: “Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well.
"When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and astonishing power… But not all bears are behemoths and danger personified."
The zoo went on to say that, as the smallest bear species in the world, the animals are "petite."
Sun bears are usually no bigger than 1.3 metres when on their hind legs, about the size of a large dog.
This is less than half the size of a grizzly bear.
Some Chinese zoos have been accused in the past of trying to dupe visitors over the identity of some of their animals, ITV News reports.
This has included trying to pass off a hairy dog as a lion and painting donkeys to look like zebras.
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