A zoo in China has been forced to deny that its sun bears are "humans in disguise" after guests noticed the animals' uncanny resemblance to people while standing upright.
Hangzhou Zoo, located in the capital of China's Zhejiang province, issued a response to wild online rumours that broke out this week accusing the facility of hiring humans to dress in bear costumes and perform for park guests.
In photos that have since been widely circulated online, one bear in particular garnered attention after it was snapped standing on its hind legs for an abnormal length of time.
Though the animals are known to embrace the position when attempting to climb a tree or scavenge for food, many said it was hard to deny that the bear truly did resemble a human being.
Some pointed out that the animal's skin, appearing to bunch around its hips, looked like that of an ill-fitted bear suit.
Hangzhou Zoo wrote a cheeky response to the rumours in the form of a post from the perspective of a sun bear called Angela.
"Some people think I stand like a person... It seems you don't understand me very well," the post said.
"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."
Sun bears are a "petite" species, the zoo continued, among the smallest in the world, similar to that of a large dog.
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They're currently listed as endangered and are native to rainforests in South East Asia.
People dressed in animal costumes has been a surprising topic of interest this week, after a man's life-long quest to "become a dog" was fulfilled in Japan.
The canine enthusiast spent over $20,000 to create an ultra-realistic dog suit, personally fitted to his body shape, that resembles a border collie.
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