PORT HARDY, B.C. — The fate of the two bear cubs spared by a conservation officer on northern Vancouver Island remains unclear.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service Insp. Chris Doyle says the cubs show signs of being habituated to humans and that animals that come into conflict with people are usually destroyed.
Conservation officer Bryce Casavant was suspended after he reportedly refused an order to euthanize the eight-week-old cubs last weekend.
The bears were orphaned when their mother was killed for breaking into a meat freezer inside a mobile home in Port Hardy.
The cubs — who have been named Athena and Jordan — are being held at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Association.
The association’s Robin Campbell says the officer made the right decision not to kill the cubs because they only came back to the property looking for their mother, are healthy and remain afraid of people — like normal bears.