Hangzhou Zoo in China was forced to issue a statement after people accused the zoo of using people disguised as bears in its displays, the New York Post reports.

The accusations started when a video emerged of a Malaysian sun bear standing on its legs that had a startling resemblance to a human in a bear costume.

Not only were its legs slender and human-like, but unnatural folds in the skin seemed to suggest this was a costume and not a real bear.

The zoo immediately denied the allegations insisting it was a real bear.

This is not the first time that such accusations have surfaced involving Chinese zoos, as the New York Post explains:

“Other Chinese zoos have also been accused of misleading guests about their animals — with allegations including dyeing dogs to look like wolves or African cats and painting donkeys to look like zebras.”

There are also persistent rumors with credible evidence that COVID-19 was not only leaked but actually created at the government-run Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. That accusation was, of course, officially denied by the Chinese Communist Party.

READ: Chinese zoo forced to deny bear is a human in costume