(CNN) A man came home to see a box of puppies that someone had left on his lawn. He called police to report the cute surprise. But when deputies took a look inside, they realized the "puppies" weren't dogs after all.

They were bear cubs.

"It's not uncommon to find black bears in the county," Camden County Sheriff Kevin Jones told CNN. "But to find bear cups in a cardboard box in your property, wrapped up in sweatshirts to keep them warm, yea, that's pretty strange."

The bear cubs were taken by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission.

The North Carolina sheriff's office explained that they had responded to a man's call last month, who told them that someone left the puppies outside his house. The man explained he was gone for just a short amount time and the animals were there when he returned, the sheriff's office said.

Sheriff Jones said the person who dropped off the cubs probably stumbled across them, put them in a box and simply left them at the man's house when they realized they couldn't keep them.

Read More