Here’s a… Pet Bear?

Bears were pretty popular circus animals back in the day. They were often trained to “dance” for audiences and underwent a lot of mistreatment. This photo is supposedly of a man and his circus bear, but something seems kind of off. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s not a bear at all. That’s a full-grown man in a weird bear suit. 

We’re not sure what the reason for this fake bear costume is, but we don’t think it fooled anybody. Maybe this particular circus couldn’t afford a real bear to join their act. Whatever the reason, a guy dressed as an unconvincing bear was at least a little more humane than having a real-life bear performing in the circus.