VietNamNet Bridge – On Monday authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai confiscated a black Asian bear kept illegally from Pham Xuan Thanh, from Son Bua Commune, Son Tay District, according to Nguyen Van Han, head of the provincial department of forest management.

Thanh said he bought the bear from a hunter two years ago and had been raising it at home.

He admitted not knowing the bear was of endangered species.

The bear weighs 65 kilo and is missing one leg, which it lost to a hunters’ trap.

According to Han, forest rangers have given the animal first aid and are now taking care of the bear.

Meanwhile, the department has also contacted Cuc Phuong National Park and the National Wild Animal Rescue Center so that the bear can be handed over to an expert.

Black bears are listed as endangered in the Vietnam Red Book, a guide to the country’s most threatened wildlife species.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre