A family were left gobsmacked after finding out their pet dog of two years was actually an endangered bear.
Owner Su Yun bought the animal, which she believed was a Tibetan Mastiff, while on holiday in 2016 before bringing it back to her home in the Chinese village of Yunnan.
However she and her family became suspicious of the pet as it grew, with the dog eventually weighing over 250 pounds and walking on its hind legs.
As reported by the Mirror, Su Yun also couldn't believe how much the animal ate. “A box of fruits and two buckets of noodles every day,” she told Chinese media.
"The more he grew, the more like a bear he looked,” said Ms Yun, who lives near the city of Kunming in Yunnan province.
She even admitted that she is terrified of bears.
The mammal has since been moved to Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Centre after the family reached out for help.
In footage taken by the rescue centre team, the bear can be seen standing at roughly a metre tall. Staff were so intimidated by the creature that it had to be sedated before transportation.
Wildlife officers have since identified the animal as an endangered Asiatic Black Bear, which are sold for thousands on the black market - despite the family being told it was a Tibetan Mastiff.
Just a few months before, a man who lives in the same province took in a bear after finding it the forest believing it to be a stray dog.
Another woman from China was left gobsmacked after realising her pet Japanese Spitz dog was in fact a domesticated fox.
The woman, identified as Ms Wang by Chinese news outlets, had bought the puppy from a pet shop.
However, over the next few months she noticed some strange behaviours, including the dog never barking and occasionally refusing to eat dog food.
She said: "The fur got thicker when it reached three months old. Its face became pointy and its tail grew longer than that of a normal dog.
"Other pet dogs seemed to be scared by my pet so I walked it with a leash."
Sun Letian, an expert in animal epidemic prevention at Taiyuan Zoo, told Ms Wang the pet was actually a fox after she contacted her for advice.
He said: "Based on the size, it is a domesticated fox. It carries a smell in their body and the smell can get stronger as it grows older."
Ms Wang gave her pet to the zoo so it could have a more suitable diet and "better living environment."
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