When Angela, a Malayan sun bear, stood up and waved to visitors to her enclosure at the Huangzhou Zoo in China on July 27, she became a social media sensation. Her build, posture and seemingly friendly gesture seemed so human that people speculated that she was actually a costumed performer. The talk gathered so much momentum, the zoo had to deny the claims. But that just goes to show how little people know about these fascinating animals.
Angela is an authentic bear, well known for her antics at the zoo.
Grizzlies and polar bears are huge, standing 2.5 metres tall and weighing 400-700kg. But not all bear species are so big. Angela’s dainty 1.3m, 50kg stature is typical for a sun bear. Sun bears often stand upright and mothers will even walk around cradling their babies in their arms. The Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire, UK, recently posted a video of one of its sun bears, Kyra, standing upright.
