Beijing, July 3 (IANS): A Chinese man has discovered that the two "pet dogs" he has been taking care of for two years are actually Asian black bears, Xinhua reported on Friday.

Wang Kaiyu lives in Maguan county in southwest China's Yunnan province near the Vietnam border. Two years ago, he bought two animals he believed to be puppies from a Vietnamese man.

"When I was working on my banana farm, a Vietnamese man came up and showed me two good looking pups. He said they are good watchdogs, so I bought them," said Wang.

Wang raised the pets carefully, bathing and grooming them daily. But he noticed that they did not behave like typical dogs. He saw their appetites grow quickly, leading them to eventually catch and eat chickens.

It was not until Wang saw a wildlife protection exhibition that he realised he had been raising two state-protected bears, Xinhua reported.

"I love them so much. Some people offered to buy them for a lot of money, but I never agreed," he said.

Wang called the police for help, hoping the bears could be sent to an appropriate habitat. They were sent to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre of Yunnan.

Asian black bears are listed as a class-II protected species in China.