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Zoo Miami's animal expert reveals whether he thinks the sun bear standing up at a Chinese zoo is real or not.
A video showing a bear standing on its hind legs is causing skepticism as some claim the bear is actually a person in a bear suit.
The video was taken last month at the Hangzhou Zoo in China.
It shows a Malayan sun bear standing straight up for several seconds in a human-like stance. Flaps of skin can be seen on the back of the bear that looks like folds in a costume.
But Zoo Miami expert Ron Magill is adamant the bear is indeed real.
“When people see animals stand up, they kind of stand up but they don’t balance themselves that way. That bear was confidently straight up like a human being and that is very easy to confuse,” said Magill.
Magill says Zoo Miami has housed Malayan sun bears in the past. They have a unique ability to maintain their balance while standing on two legs.
“Sun bears especially have this unique ability to really stand straight up with their feet on the ground that looks exactly like a human being in a bear suite,” said Magill. “You have to understand that bears do that. Bears constantly stand up on their hind legs to look for things, smell things.”