NANAIMO — Two orphaned bear cubs are settling into their temporary home at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre after being rescued in Nanaimo on Thursday.
The cubs were discovered suckling on their dead mother, who had been struck and killed by a vehicle on the Nanaimo Parkway, said B.C. conservation officer Stuart Bates.
The B.C. Conservation Service was notified that a bear had been killed on the Nanaimo Parkway near the East Wellington Overpass late Wednesday night, but it was not aware of the cubs until 3:30 a.m., when a police officer spotted them.
When the officer pulled over, the cubs darted up a tree.
Bates said the bears were too young to tranquilize. Nanaimo Fire Rescue offered a hydraulic ladder so he could reach the cubs, 10 metres up a tree.
“It is unfortunate the mother died … but it was a successful rescue,” Bates said. “These cubs would not have made it on their own.”
The cubs, likely born in January or February, weigh about eight pounds. They were taken to the North Island Wildlife Rescue Centre where they will try out the new bear enclosure, opened this year to give young bears greater stimulation and a larger, more natural environment.
Robin Campbell, manager of wildlife centre, said the cubs seem to be doing well and could be released back into the wild next June.
> Bear killed by train, A7
