A man has admitted illegally killing a black bear in New Jersey and then driving it to New York before setting up a fake kill site there to cover his tracks.

Federal prosecutors say Martin Kazycki pleaded guilty Thursday to violating a law that prohibits transporting wildlife taken illegally across state lines.

Kazycki killed the 450-pound male bear from a tree stand in Newfoundland before bear hunting season had started in October 2012. He drove it to Sterling Forest State Park and told a weigh station employee he had killed it there.

He had the bear mounted for a trophy display at a Matamoras, Pennsylvania, taxidermy shop and then dumped its guts in the New York woods.

The 36-year-old faces up to a year in prison.