MANILA, Philippines — Malaysian wildlife biologist Dr. Wong Siew Te said that sun bear Angela is not a human in disguise but a true bear.
In a report by Daily Mail, Dr. Wong said that he saw the trending video and he "didn't know whether to laugh or cry" when he heard the allegations about the bear.
"There is no doubt that it is a sun bear. I currently have four rescue sun bears in my center and it shows that people know very little about them," he said.
A video of Angela standing and begging for food circulated on Internet as social media users believed that the bear looked like a human wearing a costume.
"I was like: 'Wow and yes it looks like a human's wearing a bear suit,' but this is just sun bear and that is what is amazing," Dr. Wong said.
The Hangzhou Zoo released a statement saying that Angela is a real bear.
"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 said.
"If you get someone to wear such thick fur in this summer heat, they won't last more than a few minutes before they need to lie down. We are a government-operated zoo. There will never be situations like that," it added.
A Chinese zoo has been forced to deny that its sun bear is actually a human in a costume, after footage of one standing on its hind legs raised online accusations of a furry imposter.
A video clip of a bear rearing up and interacting with a group of people at a zoo in eastern Hangzhou city went viral on Chinese social media.
Many users posted comments doubting that the bear was real, with some alleging that its bipedal posture and wrinkled skin suggested that it was actually a human in costume.
But the zoo dismissed the rumors, saying in a statement written from the bear's perspective on Sunday that the animal was real and its detractors "really don't understand me."
"The zoo director called me after work yesterday and asked if I'd been slacking off by finding a two-legged beast to replace me," the bear, named Angela, said in the statement.
"Some people thought the way I stand up looks too human... so I will stress again: I'm a sun bear!"
Native to Southeast Asia, sun bears are named for a patch of bright orange or cream-colored chest fur that stands out against the rest of its jet-black coat.
It is the smallest bear — about the size of a large dog — and is listed as a vulnerable species due to deforestation and the global wildlife trade.
Other Chinese zoos have previously been accused of stocking their enclosures with animals that are not what they seem — including a hairy dog passed off as an "African lion" and a pool filled with penguin-shaped balloons. — With reports from Agence France-Presse