Family gives up 'puppy' that turned out to be black bear

May 15 (UPI) -- A Chinese family said they had to give up the "puppy" they adopted two years ago when it turned out to be an Asiatic black bear.

Su Yun, who lives in a village near Kunming, Yunnan province, said her family bought what they thought was a Tibetan mastiff puppy in 2016 and were quickly surprised at how much the apparent canine ate -- a box of fruit and two buckets of noodles per day.

Yun said her family became suspicious when their pet didn't stop growing and they realized it might not be a dog at all when the 250-pound animal started walking on its hind legs.

The family contacted Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Center, which confirmed their suspicions that the "puppy" was an Asiatic black bear.

The bear is now in the care of the wildlife center.

A Yongsheng county, Yunnan province, man revealed he made a similar mistake earlier this year when he surrendered a 176-pound bear that he adopted as a cub when he found what he has mistakenly identified as a puppy while mushroom foraging in 2015.