Video: Chinese zoo denies its bears are humans dressed in costumes

A zoo in eastern China is denying suggestions some of its bears might be people in costumes after photos of the animals standing like humans circulated online.

The sun bears from Malaysia are smaller than other bears and look different but are the real thing, the Hangzhou Zoo said Monday on its social media account. “Some people think I stand like a person," said the posting, written from the bear’s point of view. “It seems you don’t understand me very well.”

An employee who answered the phone at the zoo declined to talk about the bears but said visits were being arranged for reporters Monday to see them.

Internet users questioned whether the zoo’s bears were real after photos circulated showing one standing upright on slender hind legs.

“Because of the way they stand, some people online question whether they are ‘humans in disguise,’” the newspaper Hangzhou Daily said.

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