A video of moon bears relaxing happily at a zoo as one raises its paw in an apparent greeting to visitors has resurfaced, sparking theories that they are also humans in disguise after a similar furor over a moon bear at a Chinese zoo.
A recently resurfaced video shows two moon bears lying on a concrete slab at an unidentified zoo, with their arms at their sides and legs extended.
In one comical scene, the couple slowly turn their heads toward the visitors, with the rest of their bodies motionless, as if wondering why they are being stared at.
One of the bears even slowly raises its left paw in the air and appears to greet visitors.
The clearly resigned nature of the moon bear has caused a storm on social media, with users wondering if they are actually people dressed as a bear.
The speculation follows weeks of furious debate over whether a sun bear at a Chinese zoo was actually a human in disguise after it was filmed standing on its hind legs and greeting visitors as if it were a person.
A recently resurfaced video shows two moon bears lying on a concrete slab at an unidentified zoo, with their arms at their sides and legs extended.
In one comical scene, the couple slowly turn their heads toward the visitors, with the rest of their bodies motionless, as if wondering why they are being stared at.
One of the bears even slowly raises its left paw in the air and appears to greet visitors.
In response to the newly surfaced video of moon bears, which are also native to Asia but are larger than sun bears, social media users speculated that they were actually “two humans dressed as bears.”
“There’s no way they’re not two humans dressed as bears,” said one user. “You can’t convince me otherwise.”
A second user wrote: “They look like guys in bear costumes,” while another said: “They look like guys in bear costumes.”
The firestorm is similar to the one that broke out when a video surfaced of Angela the sun bear standing, begging for food and seemingly waving like a human would.
The camera angle also showed a view of fallen fur around Angela’s butt and thin legs, leading suspicious observers to claim that it was simply a zoo employee in an elaborate animal costume.
An extraordinary video shows the creature reaching out to catch a snack thrown into its enclosure at Hangzhou Zoo, and comically failing to retain it.
The firestorm is similar to the one that broke out when a video surfaced of Angela the sun bear standing, begging for food and seemingly waving like a human would.
But the zoo insisted the sun bear is not a person dressed in a costume after days of speculation.
A zoo spokesman insisted that a human in a fur bear suit “would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing” in the 104°F (40°C) temperatures of summer.
And Dr. Wong Siew Te, a Malaysian wildlife biologist and sun bear specialist, later said that the sun bear is definitely not a “human in disguise.”
Dr. Te said he “didn’t know whether to laugh or cry” when he heard the speculation surrounding the sun bear.
‘There is no doubt that it is a sun bear. “I currently have four rescued sun bears at my center and it shows that people know very little about them,” he said.
The video showed the strange-looking bear standing on two legs, searching for food.
From another point of view, Angela, the sun bear, looks more like a… bear.
As the smallest of the bear family, sun bears are often not noted for their size, but are best known for their above-average intelligence.
Experts told MailOnline that animals are “incredibly intelligent” as they can remember the location of food and imitate others’ facial expressions to communicate.
And although they have no special evolutionary link to any primate, their ability to stand upright and unusually straight limbs may fool some into believing they look more like humans than they really do.
Therefore, it was no surprise that the behavior and appearance of the sun bear in China left people around the world debating whether it is really a bear or a person in disguise.
And resurfaced video of human-like moon bears lying down in a zoo has sparked similar theories that they were also people in disguise.
Other Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats.
In 2019, two zoo workers at Yancheng Wild Animal World in Changzhou, China, were seen dressed in gorilla costumes and jumping.
Following complaints, the zoo allegedly stated that it was an April Fool’s Day prank.
In 2018, reports emerged suggesting that a Cairo zoo was trying to trick visitors by painting a donkey in black and white to make it look like a zebra.
The strange creature was discovered by student Mahmoud A. Sarhani who was visiting the recently opened animal sanctuary in the International Garden municipal park.
Several veterinarians in the country were quick to confirm that the animal was indeed a donkey.
