State investigating severed bear paws in Riverside

State wildlife investigators want to know whether a legitimate hunter or a poacher dealing in illegal animal parts left a pair of severed black bear paws in front of a Riverside home recently, The Times' David Kelly reports.

The paws, which were in a plastic bag, appeared on the doorstep of a home on Clifton Boulevard on May 4. But who dropped them off is a mystery, Kelly reports:

"The hunter was a friend of a friend of a friend who nobody seems to know," said Riverside police spokesman Steven Frasher. "We don't know if the paws were discarded or what. The homeowner threw them out, but then a neighbor called the police.

"There is speculation that this was a trophy, but leaving meat products on the doorstep in Southern California is not a good preservation strategy."

The paws were put into storage, and the case was turned over to the California Department of Fish and Game. The Humane Society of the United States has offered a $2,500 reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible if, in fact, they were poachers.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta