Visitors to the Hangzhou Zoo in eastern China could ‘bearly’ contain their comments, claiming one of the zoo’s sun bears was actually a human, in a bear suit.A video of the bear went viral on YouTube, showing it standing tall on the edge of its enclosure, holding its paws by its side and seemingly observing the zoo's visitors for itself, reports the BBC. .People viewing the video “questioned how the bear could stand so upright on slender legs, as well as the appearance of what looks to be skin bagging around its hips, some noting the similarity to those on an ill-fitting bear suit,” said BBC. .The zoo responded in a post designed to appear to be coming from the bear, saying, "Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don't understand me very well." ."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, through the bear's voice, instead emphasized sun bears are "petite, the smallest bear in the world," reports BBC. .“In an audio recording circulating on WeChat, a spokesperson for the zoo said the animal was real and that such deception would not happen at a state-run facility,” reports the Guardian, adding the spokesperson said, “in the 40C (104F) summer temperature, a human in a fur bear suit would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing.” .Sun bears are the size of large dogs, standing at most 1.3 metres tall on their hind legs, compared with up to 2.8 metres for grizzlies and other species. They are an endangered species, native to the rainforests in southeast Asia, according to the zoo. .Other Chinese zoos have been accused of trying to pass off dogs dyed to look like wolves or African cats, and donkeys painted to look like zebras. .Meanwhile, in news about ‘dogging it’, a Japanese man spent US$14,000 to fulfil a lifelong desire to transform into a collie dog. .The man’s ‘transformation’ to collie can be seen in a video on his YouTubechannel named I Want To Be An Animal. He is seen in the collie costume, interacting with real-life dogs and people who are unaware there is a grown man disguised as an animal, reports Blaze News. .As of Monday morning, the video had been viewed more than three million times on YouTube. .The man, known only as Toco, has previously posted more than 20 videos of him dressed in the dog costume, but his latest video is the first that he left the privacy of his home, reports Blaze News, adding he said he felt "nervous and a little scared" about going out in public dressed as a dog. ."I don’t want my hobbies to be known, especially by the people I work with," Toco told the Daily Mail. "I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird." ."My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal," he added. "They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face." .Toco said he has wanted to transform into an animal since he was a child. ."Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard," he said. "I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside." ."Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be an animal. I think it is a desire to transform. I've thought about it since I can remember." .He bought the collie costume from Zeppet, a Japanese company that makes costumes for TV and movies. The Tokyo-based company says it takes 40 days to create the collie costume, reports Blaze News. ."Modeled after a collie dog, it reproduces the appearance of a real dog walking on four legs," a Zeppet spokesperson told news.com.au.
