'Bit scared of bears': Family raises 250-pound dog for two years which later turns out to be an Asiatic black bear
YUNNAN, CHINA: A family in a rural area of China adopted what they believed to be a dog but they later realized that it was a bear. Su Yun, a resident of the Yunnan Province a Chinese village, brought home what she believed to be a Tibetan mastiff while on vacation in 2016, according to reports. Tibetan mastiffs are large dogs with dense black and brown coats.
The dog's owner claimed she was instantly alarmed by its ravenous hunger when saw him gobbling down two buckets of noodles and a box of fruits every day. After two years, Su's pet weighed in at 250 pounds and kept gaining weight. The woman's amazement turned to fear when she realized the animal had an odd talent for walking on two legs. “The more he grew, the more like a bear he looked,” Su told Chinese media.
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Yun stated that she was "a bit scared of bears," which did not fit well with her growing suspicions about her pet's true nature. Su contacted the police, who promptly determined that her alleged dog was actually an Asiatic black bear, one of the world's most threatened animals.
Yunnan Wildlife Rescue: Bear's new home
The unusual story was initially published by the Independent in 2018, but it has now gone viral again. Male Asiatic bears, commonly referred to as moon bears or Himalayan bears, can weigh up to 400 pounds when fully grown. Su's bear, who had been living in her house all this time, had to be tranquilized before being taken to the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue because the person who came to take it was too afraid to handle the wild animal while it was awake. The huge bear was captured on camera by a Chinese media outlet in May 2018 munching on an orange inside a cage. It had a shiny black coat and the species' distinctive white mark on its chest. The bear was said to be having a healthy life in its new habitat at the time, according to officials.
Asiatic Black Bear is highly profitable
The Asiatic Black Bear, which can easily be sold for thousands of dollars illegally, is immensely profitable on the black market, as The Sun reported. These creatures have been employed in traditional Asian medicine. The bite of animals contains a substance called ursodeoxycholic acid, which is used to treat conditions including liver disease.
