The lonely 2-month-old black bear cub who was weak, dehydrated and underweight when he arrived at a wildlife center in Southern California last month may have had bigger problems than to question why his new caretakers looked rather gaunt.

Apparently, he has yet to discover that they aren’t bears at all, but people donning pelts and furs to disguise their humanness.

That’s because the make-believe bears are staff members with the Ramona Wildlife Center at the San Diego Humane Society, which has been experimenting with the practice of dressing up to welcome bear cubs and other wildlife that has been abandoned or lost.

The hope is that the cub will not form an attachment to humans, losing its instinctual behaviors and becoming reliant on people for food, the center said.

The ash-brown colored cub (the fur of American black bears comes in a wide array of colors) is still learning how to be a bear.