A zoo in eastern China has shut down speculation that some of its sun bears are "humans in disguise" after visitors noticed the animals' resemblance to people while standing upright.
Video has blown up online showing one sun bear standing on its back legs. People highlighted its slender legs and folds of fur, which they believe made it look like a human acting the part of the bear.
Hangzhou Zoo, in the capital of China's Zhejiang province, has been forced to deny the wild speculation online.
A Malaysian sun bear zookeeper Angela said not "all bears are behemoths and danger personified".
"When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and astonishing power."
Angela took a cheeky take in her response to the rumours, saying: "Some people think I stand like a person… It seems you don't understand me very well".
The Guardian reports that in an audio recording on the social media platform WeChat, a spokesperson for the zoo said the animal was real and that deception would not happen at a state-run zoo.
The spokesperson also said that in 40C summer temperature, a human in a fur bear suit "would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing".
