Bearly believable: ‘Cute puppies’ turned out to be black bears

Two Asian black bears have been sent to a wildlife rescue centre after they were discovered living with a villager who thought they were for pet dogs. The animals were owned by Wang Kaiyu, from Maguan County in China’s Yunnan Province for two years after he bought them from Vietnam. He had been told they were dogs when he bought them and said they were lively, not picky about food and friendly with humans. He finally realised his mistake when he saw a wildlife protection promotion about Asian black bears, which are listed as a class II protected species.

The capture of live bears presents yet another threat to this species. In several south-east Asian countries, Asiatic black bears are routinely confiscated from people attempting to raise them as pets.

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The banana farmer alerted the local public security bureau and the bears were afterwards sent to the rescue centre. The two bears, one male and one female, which weigh about 50kg, are in good health condition. Wang said the animals were well-behaved but that their appetites were rapidly growing. He recalled a few times when his beloved pets caught and ate chickens on the farm.

In Pakistan, several thousand bears were taken from the wild for exhibitions [referred to as bear baiting] in which individual bears [with canines and claws removed] fight with dogs.

IUCN

Odd News Wang Kaiyu