The Hangzhou Zoo, in China, which houses a human-looking bear that has caused a furore on the networks Chinese and international in recent days, said it has seen a 33 percent increase in visitor numbers since images of the animal went viral.
Videos posted on the Douyin platform, the Chinese version of the video application Tiktok, show the animal walking through its enclosure with a posture very similar to that of a person, attracting millions of views.
Some netizens have joked that the bear looks like a costumed actor or a temporary worker hired for the summer, while others have expressed admiration for the animal’s intelligence and charm.
They do it to interact with humans or to look for food in the trees.
Commentators were surprised by the folds in the skin on the animal’s back when it stands upright, which make it look like a costume. The deputy director of the zoo, Jiang Zhi, quoted by local media, explained that sun bears are able to stand up and that they do so to “interact with humans” or “to look for food in the trees.”
(You can read: Unusual: zoo is accused of disguising people as sun bears in China).
Jiang noted that the number of visitors to the zoo increased significantly after the video was released: on July 29, they received 12,000 people and on July 30, 15,000, which represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the previous days.
The zoo was forced to clarify that it is a real bear and not a disguised human: the animal, named Anjila, and another sun bear named Dalu, arrived at the zoo in 2020 and feed on milk, dates, fruits and insects.
In fact, the deputy director assured that “It is not the first time” that sun bears have gained notoriety for their curious appearance and noted that “they are generally mild-tempered.” Numerous users on social networks such as Weibo -similar to Twitter, censored in China- commented on their desire to travel to Hangzhou to see the famous animal in person.
(Also: He paid $60 million to become a dog and growl at his bullies.)
The zoo has also taken advantage of the popularity of the video to disseminate information about this species, which is the smallest of the bears and lives in Southeast and South Asia, tropical habitats that also give it the peculiarity of not hibernating.
🇨🇳 | A video of a bear standing in Hangzhou, China, has spread on social media with theories that it was a human in a suit. The zoo tried to clear things up by issuing a statement in the bear’s voice. “I’m a sun bear!” pic.twitter.com/POqe4traMU
— The Eye of Jebus (@Chufl3t3r0) August 2, 2023
EFE
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