Bearing Up??

Bear poses for pictures with tourists

A bear has become a minor celebrity in a Chinese zoo by happily posing for pictures with tourists.

Tian Tian was forced to retire from his job in a circus - where he performed on the parallel bars and a bike - because he was too obese.

He is now paraded around Shendiao Mountain Zoo in Shandong, northern China, but because of his time interacting with humans at the circus, he relates to people better than other bears.

"I have to take her and wander around during the day time outside the bear pen," said Tian Tian's feeder Wang Qunfa.

When she first arrived at the zoo and tourists began to request pictures, officials decided to turn her into a full-time 'picture bear'.

She soon began to adopt special poses for photographs by putting on a casual look and leaning on a fence. In return, she stares at tourists' food until they give it to her. She has become particularly fond of beer.