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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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez