Chinese zoo accused of passing off dog as lion years before ‘human-bear’ saga

A new video has resurfaced from 2021 amid the human-bear controversy

A Chinese sun bear has sent the internet into a frenzy this week after being mistaken as a human in a costume – with a zoo being forced to deny its bears are fake.

Theories around the bear, which can be seen waving in new footage from Hangzhou Zoo, led to a surge in visitors despite experts insisting the breed often looks like people.

But a resurfaced video from 2021 from another zoo in China gives reason to believe the mistaken human-bear theory was not as far-fetched as first thought.

Two years ago, a zoo in Yuanjiashan Zoo in Xichang was accused of trying to pass off a Golden Retriever as a lion.

A father on a visit to the zoo with his daughter was surprised to find the golden-haired dog in a cage, despite the sign on the bars suggesting an African lion was inside.

Mr Tang, identified only by his last name, recorded a video of the cage while joking that the animal looked familiar and he wasn’t convinced he was looking at a real lion.

Perhaps the lion hadn’t grown up yet, he joked in the footage.

The mini-lion captured at Yuanjiashan Zoo. (Weibo)

He told the South China Morning Post he thought he had taken his child to the wrong place when coming across the animal.

“After walking around the cage, we realised it is where the lion should be housed,” he said, before accusing the zoo of selling tickets promoting lions without any in the zoo.

A worker was quoted as saying the zoo was “adjusting the animals’ accommodations”, with the lion’s sign not taken down yet.

The African lion poster at Yuanjiashan Zoo (Weibo)

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, the zoo claimed it was a misunderstanding involving the owner’s dog and lions were later added back to the cage.

Meanwhile, in the Zhejiang province, Hangzhou Zoo posted a video online this week from the perspective of Angela, a Malaysian sun bear, to insist she is in fact a bear.

It said: “Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well.”

Zookeepers added in the post: “When it comes to bears, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge figure and amazing power.

“But not all bears are behemoths and danger personified. We Malayan bears are petite, the smallest bear in the world.”

The bear’s impressive posture and ability to stand up on its back legs and wave led to a number of viewers becoming suspicious.

In an audio recording circulating on WeChat, the Chinese messenger service, a spokesperson for the zoo confirmed the bear was real.

They also highlighted that a human “would not last more than a few minutes before collapsing” if dressed in a bear suit in the 40C heat of Hangzhou.