A zoo in central China’s Henan Province has responded to concern about a skeletal bear pictured in one of its enclosures, claiming that the animal is thin but healthy. /Photo from Weibo @lxfyghy
A photo of the brown bear in Xinxiang People's Park Zoo was posted on Sunday by a netizen named @lxfyghy on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. It was tagged “This bear looks so poorly… has it been abused or starved?” /Photo from Weibo @lxfyghy
On Monday, the zoo said on Weibo, “The one-year-old bear has grown rapidly but has found it difficult to store fat like its adult counterparts. Moreover, the young bear is in her molting period in order to get through the hot summer. The animal has a normal diet with no lack of food, and our vets have checked its health regularly.” /Photo from Weibo @lxfyghy
A local animal rights activist told thepaper.cn that the bear was obviously unusually small, and the zoo should consider its ability to raise animals before they are transferred from other zoos, as this bear had been. /Photo from Weibo @lxfyghy
