(updated: February 20th, 8:30am)  Police in Guilderland are trying to figure out who dressed up a bear claw to look like a severed human hand.

The "hand" was discovered Thursday evening at2925 Old State Road. Paul Gleasman found it on his property and thought it was a prank toy left around from Halloween. He said he spotted a clear surgical glove that was swollen and discolored on top of a snow bank.

Thinking that it was a sick joke left around for some time, Gleasman threw it into the woods to keep his daughter from finding it.

Gleasman said that after thinking about it he went back and retrieved the hand. He then realized it looked more like a human hand and notified police.

After a careful examination, that included an x-ray, state police determined it was an animal claw.

Guilderland police will continue to investigate why someone would go to the trouble of making the animal claw look like a human hand.

The various police agencies took no chances in the initial stages of the investigation.  They called in helicopters and combed the area to make sure a body was not nearby.