Thousands call for the release of Pizza, the world's saddest polar bear https://t.co/ssXKE3lgJ8pic.twitter.com/lxIOkBUMeO
— Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) July 20, 2016
Judging by the video evidence, this polar bear at an "ocean theme park" in Guangzhou, China doesn't seem terribly happy with his situation. There's a lot of laying around and slow movement. He seems a little thinner than he should be.
Would you be depressed if you lived in a glass cage alone and everyday were forced to be in random tourist selfies? You would be depressed.
Which is to say that calling this polar bear—whose name is Pizza—"the world's saddest polar bear" is not much of a stretch. Could there be sadder polar bears in the world? Yes, theoretically, there could. But check this guy out. He needs a lot more than a therapist.
Pizza needs—according to a petition signed by over 285,000 people calling for the closure of the park where he lives—to be free.
China's exploding middle-class has led to a corresponding rise in so-called ocean theme parks, meaning that Pizza is far from the only bear suffering from the effects of captivity.
But Animals Asia, a charity based in Hong Kong, has said they were working to try and improve conditions in many of the parks, if they're not able to free the animals altogether.
That includes helping Pizza at the Guangzhou park, where park directors said last week they would be working to try and provide a "better life" for Pizza and the other animals at the park, in part because of pressure from the charity, according to the Guardian.
So hang in there, Pizza. Life might get a little better soon.