With newspaper headlines across the country telling of human skeleton hand and foot remains being discovered, and citizens nearby fear the worst, forensic experts have found that many of these claims are, in fact, not human remains.

It turns out that a bear paw skeleton is very similar to that of a  human hand or a child’s foot.  The above picture shows a skinned bear paw with the claws cut off.  The similarities between a bear paw and a human hand skeleton are uncanny, even though they look nothing alike in their original and attached states.  This is why any remains found should be examined before jumping to conclusions.

By all means, report any remains that appear to human to the local authorities, but keep in mind there is a possibility your find could be from an animal.

Human hand skeleton on left and bear paw skeleton on right