Greetings, humans – if that is indeed what you are. You could be a sun bear dressed in a human costume, for all Diary knows.
Many animal charities had a lot of fun responding to controversy this week, when a video of a sun bear in Hangzhou zoo went viral over speculation that it was a human dressed in a bear suit.
The New York Times reported that the zoo attempted to “clear things up” by releasing a statement in the bear’s voice, saying: “I am a Malayan sun bear!”
Diary can only assume this had the opposite effect as that is exactly what a human pretending to be a bear would say. Also, bears cannot use keyboards, to the best of this columnist’s knowledge.
A video of a bear standing in Hangzhou, China, swept through social media with conspiracy theories it was a human in a suit. The zoo tried to clear things up by releasing a statement in the bear’s voice. “I am a Malayan sun bear!” https://t.co/pJ36hDWhhM pic.twitter.com/1pJL6zwM0S
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 1, 2023
Anywho, the confusion started because viewers think the creases on the bear's legs are akin to a costume, or jogging bottoms – which hopefully no zoo has ever put a bear in (despite how cool and street they would look).
See the footage for yourself to decide what the bear is. Diary is legally obliged to say that professionals have said it is a sun bear, but where is the fun in that?
Edinburgh Zoo
Charities like Edinburgh Zoo and Chester Zoo were quick to post images of their own sun bears on social media with captions like “100% sun bear” to clarify their sun bears were in fact, real.
We can confirm that Rotana IS a sun bear... 👀💛 pic.twitter.com/luci7tIUbT
— Edinburgh Zoo (@EdinburghZoo) August 1, 2023
An album of smiling mouths
Now, an album of smiling mouths may sound sinister and menacing at first – but hear Diary out.
The cleft-focused charity, Smile Train, is looking to break a Guinness World Record title by making the largest online photo album of smiling mouths.
The timeline to secure the title is until 6 October, so there is still time to have your gnashers included. Anyone over the age of 13 can participate, with the aim of the online album being to raise awareness of clefts. Some 657 smiles have been included so far.
Fox cub in the bath
Scottish SPCA came to the rescue this week after a homeowner found a fox cub curled up in their bath.
How the fox cub entered the property is unknown, but it appears that they were rather stealthy about it. The animal is pictured next to two electric toothbrushes, so they may have taken the initiative to get clued up on dental hygiene. We will never know.
Reports state that the cub was unharmed if a little frightened, and was soon released back into the wild.
