Mother is shocked to discover a bear with its head and paws MISSING on the side of the road as she walked in the California forest with her children

A California mother was left horrified when she discovered a bear with its head and paws cut off while she walked with her children in a local forest. 

The dead bear was found on the side of the road near Foresthill and it is currently unclear if it was killed as a result of poaching. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating and shared that the sighting of a bear in that condition is fairly uncommon, CBS Sacramento reports.   

The dead bear was found on the side of the road near Foresthill, California, by the mother who was with her children

Authorities are trying to determine how the bear died and will be looking for evidence of bear parts being sold on the black market. 

At least once a year, the agency has to investigate a case involving a bear but they added that they have never had a case like this one.  

'Well, you have people that just hunt for the fun of it, and if that's what they are doing it's crazy. But it's just some people that's just not right in the head and just do crazy things,' one local said. 

Fish and Wildlife investigators are looking to see if there was possibly a vehicle parked in the area that could be connected to the incident

Another local, Jim Forman, expressed disgust that the animal would be left in such a state.  

'If you torture animals, people are not that far removed from that type of crime, in other words, somebody who does that might well progress, Forman said.

Fish and Wildlife investigators are looking to see if there was possibly a vehicle parked in the area that could be connected to the incident.