Two Asian black bears mistakenly bred as "pet dogs" by a local villager for two years in Yunnan Province have been sent to the provincial wildlife rescue center. [Photo/CNS]

Two Asian black bears mistakenly bred as "pet dogs" by a local villager for two years in Yunnan Province have been sent to the provincial wildlife rescue center.

The bears were bought from a Vietnamese two years ago by Wang Kaiyu, a villager in Maguan County who made a living by planting bananas, Chinanews.com reported today.

Wang said he believed they were dogs while buying them. He loved his "puppies" much, bathing them and combing their hair almost every day, he said.

The bears were both very lively, not picky about food and were friendly with human beings. But they started behaving strangely much unlike dogs while they grew up, Wang added. They even occasionally caught and ate chicken.

Wang finally realized that his "pet dogs" were actually second class national protected animals of China as he accidentally saw a promotion of wildlife protection knowledge poster put out by local police.

He alerted local public security bureau and the bears were afterwards sent to the rescue center.

The two bears, one male and one female, are in good health condition. They weigh about 50 kilograms each, according to the report.

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