Sun bears: Chinese viral video of ‘human-in-a-suit’ bear sparks new interest in the species as Australian zookeeper explains why they have saggy skin
- Aussie zookeeper reveals reasons behind sun bears’ saggy skin
- She said it’s there to help them protect themselves in the wild
An Aussie zookeeper has weighed in over the viral Chinese bear video debate, explaining the species has the ‘saggy skin’ that led people to believe it was a human in an animal suit to allow them agile movement when threatened.
Serena Robbie from the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra said sun bears which were seen in the viral vision last week naturally display human-like qualities.
Angela the sun bear baffled people around the world after footage of the human-like zoo animal at Hanzhou Zoo in eastern China first emerged prompting onlookers to question if the bear was really a person in a costume.
The camera angle showed a view of sagging fur around Angela’s behind – which many suggested made it look like a person dressed up.
The Canberra Zoo has two sun bears on site – Arataki, 23, and Otay, 19 – and both have attracted an uptick in visitors in the wake of the circulating video.
Angela the sun bear baffled people around the world after footage of the human-like zoo animal first emerged (pictured)
The camera angle showed a view of sagging fur around Angela’s behind – which many suggested made it look like a costume
Mrs Robbie said the bear in the Chinese vision seen standing, begging for food and waving like a person ‘definitely’ resembled a sun bear.
‘These guys do spend a lot of time standing up, so they do stand on their back feet and look like people,’ she told the Canberra Times.
‘That’s one of the comments we do get a lot from the public, is that they look like people in suits. But they’re definitely not. They’re definitely sun bears,’ she said.
She explained the saggy skin is an evolutionary quirk the species gained in a bid to defend themselves in the wild.
‘So if something comes up to attack them from behind, it means they can actually spin around in their skin, 180 degrees, and they can fight back,’ Mrs Robbie said.
She said they have the excess skin around their necks and whole body too.
Footage of the bear waving in the Chinese video also added fuel to the fire of the bear being a human in a suit.
But Mrs Robbie said the ‘waving’ is the bears’ way of getting food.
She said the recent boost in visitor numbers to see the bears has given the zoo opportunity to promote the plight of the ‘vulnerable’ species in the wild.
They have been held in captivity in Asian countries where bile is extracted from their gall bladders on a regular basis for profit.
The Canberra zoo has two sun bears on site – Arataki, 23, and Otay, 19 – both have attracted an uptick in visitors in the wake of the circulating video (pictured, one of the sun bears at Canberra’s National Zoo and Aquarium)
‘These guys do spend a lot of time standing up, so they do stand on their back feet and look like people,’ the Canberra zookeeper Serena Robbie (pictured) said
Mrs Robbie said the zoo supports Free the Bears – an organisation that rescues bears from trades like this and poaching overseas.
Now, tens of millions have seen clips of the bear clumsily trying to catch food thrown into the enclosure by visitors before it resigns itself to sitting on a rock.
The zoo was quick to dismiss claims the animal playing dress-up, stressing that such deception would not happen at a state-run zoo.
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