Anger as a Chinese zoo bear is filmed guzzling Coca-Cola in its cage while surrounded by empty plastic bottles
Anger as a Chinese zoo bear is filmed guzzling Coca-Cola in its cage while surrounded by empty plastic bottles
- The brown bear swallows a bottle of cola in its cage at the zoo in Dalian, China
Anger is mounting after video has emerged of a brown bear swallowing a bottle of Coca-Cola handed to it by a tourist at a zoo in China.
The bear is seen in its cage in front of someone gives it a bottle full of the fizzy drink through the gate.
The animal easily grabs it with its snout and then grabs it with both paws while confined at the zoo in Dalian, in northeast China’s Liaoning province.
Within seconds, the bear unscrews the cap, opens the bottle and swallows the drink.
A Chinese zoo has been heavily criticized after a video has surfaced of one of its brown bears guzzling down a bottle of Coca-Cola
The bear, surrounded by empty soda bottles, is filmed gulping down the sugary drink
A number of empty bottles can also be seen in the bear cage.
The video has attracted a lot of attention on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – with numerous people criticizing the visitors for feeding the animal a high sugar drink that could harm its health.
Many more blamed the zoo for apparently allowing the reckless behavior.
The same problem was reported in 2017 when an unnamed visitor told local media, “Dozens of tourists lined up to feed the animals, and two poor bears were left drinking Coke in the middle.”
One user commented, “Why do zoos let visitors pass Coke or other treats to bears, which could potentially kill them?”
Another user wrote, “Can you put an end to this kind of behavior? I really beg you.’
Following the online outcry, zoo staff claimed that it is strictly forbidden to feed the animals soft drinks.
They criticized guides who often take groups to the zoo and would suggest feeding the brown bears drinks to provide an interactive experience.
Zoo staff said: “In response to the issues reported by netizens, the park issued another notice in the guide’s WeChat group (a Chinese messaging app) not to urge tourists to feed coke.
People have hit back at the zoo for repeatedly allowing this type of tourist behavior
“In the future, we will consider harsh isolation measures, such as adding a net to the cage and erecting fences to prevent tourists from feeding the bears with cola,” local media said.
The staff added that they would also strengthen oversight in the future.
Local authorities also demanded that the zoo rectify the situation immediately and reminded travel agencies to inform their employees that it is prohibited to feed and drink the animals.