IQALUIT, Nunavut, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they got a call when visitors to rural northern Canada mistook partially decomposed polar bear paws for human hands.

RCMP Cpl. Yvonne Niego said officers were called for the report of two human hands sitting in some mud in Iqaluit, Nunavut.


Mounties found the bones and quickly ruled out their being human, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.

"The individuals calling weren't local," Niego said. "I don't know if they were here for long, but I think most people are pretty aware of the hunting lifestyle here. In this case, it's just because there were only the paws, and polar bear paws happen to look very human."

The officers disposed of the paws so no one else made the same mistake.