The dangers facing sun bears have become worldwide news following a viral video of a zoo animal that appeared to be waving.
Hangzhou Zoo in eastern China vigorously denied that Angela, the female sun bear seen all over the internet, was in fact a human playing dress up.
In posts on its official WeChat account and in interviews with local media, the zoo said Angela is “definitely not a human”.
“Some people think I stand like a person,” said another post on the zoo’s social media, written from the bear’s point of view.
“It seems you don’t understand me very well.”
Sun bears are the smallest in the world but their survival in the wild is at risk and Angela may have, unwittingly or not, drawn attention to her species’ plight.
“It looks very similar to people when they stand up,” said biologist Wang Siew Te, the founder of Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. “But I am 100 per cent sure it is a sun bear.”
Sun bears are distinct for a crescent on their chest in a golden colour but the bear is far smaller than its relatives - the head-and-body length is between 100 and 140 cm whereas a grizzly bear can be twice as large. The bear can weigh around 70kg and can live up to 25 years old.
Mr Wang told CNN that the bears’ tropical forest habitat across southeast Asia is shrinking and that their wild population has dwindled to around between 1,000 and 2,500.
“If the forest is not big enough, if hunting and poaching still continue, the future is very bleak because they need a large forest to survive,” he said.
He added that an illegal market has been set up to trade the bears’ claws, teeth and organs. This can be used for Asian medicine.
Meanwhile, Hangzhou Zoo has seen its attendance surge by 30 per cent as visitors look to decide for themselves if Angela is the real deal.
“Sun bears are finally having their moment in the spotlight,” Mr Wang added.
“There is a lot to love about them which many people do not know about and they play important ecological roles. They are threatened by man and need more global attention and awareness to save the species.”
