Driver caught with 22 bear cubs in car, insisting them puppies

A driver was arrested in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Sunday after he was accused of trafficking 22 moon bear cubs during a random police check on a highway, the provincial media reported.

The moon bear is endangered species and listed among the country's protected wild animals.

Police also found a dead bear, four paws that had been chopped off and canned milk powder in the car trunk.

The bears' paws are used in cooking and are sold for high prices in China, though the practice is illegal.

The cubs crawling around in the back seat caught the attention of police after the car was stopped for a random check on the G85 highway.

Police said the black cubs all had a cream-colored crescent moon shape on their chest, indicating they could be the endangered Asiatic black bears, also known as moon bears.

Police said the driver had argued that the animals were only puppies at first. He later admitted he was hired to transport the bear cubs to someone in Chengdu, in Sichuan Province, after police made further findings in the trunk, the report said.

Police said the cubs were crying because of hunger and the long trip. They were later sent to a provincial animal rescue center after police fed them milk.

The man was arrested and the case was still being investigated.