Su Yun and her family definitely couldn't resist. Su Yun and her family lived in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China. The family had planned a vacation, and they probably didn't intend for one of their souvenirs to be a precious Tibetan Mastiff puppy.
Su and her family arrived back home after their vacation with the newly named pup, 'Little Black.' It sounds weird in English, yes, but the Chinese translation is absolutely perfect for the precious little guy. The family allowed the dog to live in the house with them, so they let him roam to get a feel for the place.
As time passed, Su noticed that Little Black had a very healthy appetite as he'd eat everything in his bowl. Not to mention, on top of his regular puppy chow, Little Black was fed two buckets of noodles every day. Yeah, noodles aren't exactly the first thing you'd probably think to feed a dog, but at least their intentions were pure.
As time passed, Su watched as Little Black grew and grew. The puppy gained weight quickly and always had a healthy appetite. He was thriving in the household. That made the family happy, of course, but they were a little unnerved by how quickly he was growing. They shrugged it off, as long as he was happy and healthy.
Since Little Black seemed to always be hungry, Su and her family were happy to feed him as much as he wanted. By the time the dog turned one, Su and her family had spent a small fortune on noodles, dog chow, and fruit for his strange diet. Yes, they fed him fruit, which most dogs don't like or can get sick from. However, Little Black seemed to mostly crave fruit.
Two years into owning Little Black, Su was a little scared of her own dog. He'd grown much too big. So big that if he pulled on the leash or threatened to attack, then there was no way she could stop him. Some people love big dogs, but Little Black had grown way beyond the family's expectations. And he was becoming dangerous.
Aside from Little Black's massive size, Su noticed some other weird features that she'd never seen on any other dog before. Big dogs are expected to have big teeth, but Little Black's teeth were just too big and too sharp to compare to a normal dog.
One day, while Little Black was still growing, Su found that he was standing on his hind legs. Now, it's not too abnormal for dogs to stand for brief periods of time, often when they're excited or begging for food, but Little Black was standing like it was completely natural. It was like he was having no issues, which raised a few suspicions.
Once Little Black finally got too big to keep inside, the family was forced to put him outside. However, every time they visited him outside, they found him standing and growling, and instead of barking, he would roar.
The Asian black bear (also known as the moon bear and the white-chested bear) is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia. They typically live in the Himalayas and in some parts of Japan and Taiwan. They're mostly herbivorous but known to be very aggressive toward humans and are listed as a protected animal in China's National Protection Wildlife Law.
After discovering the truth, Su Yun weighed her options. She could, of course, contact the police, but that could lead to potentially disastrous consequences for her and her family. On the other hand, she could try and contact a zoo that was in the area. She decided to at least attempt contacting the zoo first.
Su Yun and her family loved Little Black, but they knew that keeping him would bring all kinds of trouble and danger to them. So, Su Yun first reached out to the local zoo to see if they could take Little Black. Unfortunately, the zoo informed Su that without a birth certificate for him, they couldn’t even consider taking the bear in.
Once they arrived, Su and her family fully cooperated with police, telling them about the strange situation. However, it wasn’t until police and wildlife officials went into the backyard that they truly believed it. Even at first sight, the officials knew that Little Black, who was resting in a caged area of the yard, was definitely no dog.
Once the truth had been realized, the family reached out to wildlife officials for help. Little Black was picked up and taken to the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Centre. Footage that was taken by officials showed Little Black standing at about a meter tall and over 250 lbs. Officials were so intimidated by him that he was sedated for transport.
At some point, National Geographic caught wind of the story, and from there, it blew up. The family and Little Black became media sensations, but there was also a lot of controversy surrounding the story. Many people across the globe questioned how anyone could mistake a bear cub for a dog, and the family faced backlash for the mistake.
You might be surprised to hear that this actually happens more than you'd think. In 2018, a woman in China handed over a fox that she'd thought was a Japanese Spitz for almost a year. In the same year, a man took a leopard cat from the wild after mistaking it for a stray domestic kitten.
