Two orphaned cubs were spared from death when a British Columbia conservation officer ignored the order to kill them and instead took them to a vet hospital.

The mother of the bears was killed for repeatedly raiding a freezer inside a mobile home near Port Hardy, BC, Canada. The cubs returned to the area in search of their mother. Firefighters later removed the brother and sister cubs from a nearby tree.

Though he had an order to kill the pair, Conservation Officer Bryce Casavant tranquilized them instead and took them to a veterinarian. 

The story sparked social media reaction including a tweet by British comedian Ricky Gervais.

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Corbin Spencer, right, field director of New Georgia Project and volunteer Rodney King, left, help Rueke Uyunwa register to vote. The influential group is shutting down after more than a decade. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2017)

Credit: Hyosub Shin