Chinese zoo denies its sun bear is a human in a costume

July 31 (UPI) -- Officials at a Chinese zoo denied that a sun bear seen in a viral video filmed at the facility is a human wearing a costume.

The Hangzhou Zoo in Zhejiang province responded on WeChat after members of the public questioned whether a video filmed at the zoo depicted an actual sun bear or a human in a costume.

The video shows the animal standing on two legs and striking a human-like posture. Commenters also pointed out pleats on the animal's backside resembled bunched clothing, but zoo officials said that is a normal part of sun bear anatomy.

Jiang Zhi, deputy director of the Hangzhou Zoo, said some of the confusion likely comes from the bear being misidentified as a black bear in social media posts. He said sun bears are much smaller with shorter fur and a different body shape.

A zoo spokesman also said in a second WeChat post that the temperature at the zoo lately has been reaching 104 degrees -- much too hot for a human to survive for more than a few minutes in a heavy bear suit.