A waving Malayan sun bear in China’s Hangzhou Zoo isn’t a person in a suit, contrary to online speculation. There’s a serious side to all the social media buzz, say these zoology experts.
Bears generally carry some extra fat and tropical sun bears don’t have the thick fur of their cold climate cousins. So poor Angela’s skin folds are there for all to see as she suffers some “pants sag”.Only animals that evolved climbing ability, like bears, raccoons, primates and some of the cat family, can turn their palms upwards and move their forearms side-to-side. This allows them to grab hold of trees. Animals that evolved to run long distances, like deer, wolves and horses, can’t do this.
We think that most probably she simply wants to stand up and clearly occupy her territory when faced with visitors, a bit like we might stand on our front step when strangers call on us.Standing up also allows sun bears to smell over longer distances. Although solitary in the wild, sun bears are good communicators when housed in groups and are the only animals other than humans and gorillas that can mimic each other’s facial expressions for social appeasement.
Most likely then, Angela was just making a gesture of displaced curiosity, like a cat pawing at an image on a TV screen, while defending her enclosure.Since Angela appeared on the Chinese blogging site Weibo, visitor numbers are up by 30 per cent at the Hangzhou zoo and millions have taken an interest internationally. While this story is cute, there’s a serious side.
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