Man caught with bear paw

The paws of an adult polar bear.

The paws of an adult polar bear.

Published Mar 30, 2012

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A Chinese man who landed at Romania's main airport carrying a bear paw in his luggage has been detained by authorities.

When a scanner detected the paw in the man's suitcase, airport officials first thought they were human remains, but a lab soon identified the bones as a bear paw, prosecutors said in a statement.

During questioning Thursday night, the 54-year-old Chinese tourist - who was not identified - said he had frozen the bear foot and planned to take it to a restaurant in Italy.

The bear is a protected species in Romania, and transporting such animal parts is illegal. But it wasn't immediately clear on Friday if the man would be prosecuted. - Sapa-AP

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