Officials investigate severed bear paws found in Calif.

The Associated Press

RIVERSIDE, Calif. --

Officials want to know how a pair of severed bear paws wound up in a Southern California neighborhood.

Police were called to a home north of Riverside Municipal Airport on Saturday after residents there found the paws stuffed in a bag. The state Department of Fish and Game will investigate.

Bear poaching is a problem in California, where bear paws and gallbladders can fetch good money because they are prized in traditional Chinese medicine.

Bear hunting is legal with a license and a bear tag, but any sale of the meat or parts for profit is considered a felony punishable by up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine.