A pair of orphaned black bears who escaped death last year when a conservation officer defied orders to kill them are expected to be released into the wild as early as mid-June.
Jordan and Athena are now about 15-months-old and have been living at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre on Vancouver Island since their mother was killed by a conservation officer after twice raiding a freezer at Port Hardy-area home.
Wildlife manager Julie Mackey says the bears will be fitted with GPS collars to track their movements, heart beat, temperature and hibernation once they're released into the wild.
She says the pair are the first bears at the shelter to get the collars as part of an agreement with the Environment Ministry, which wants to track how they fare in the wild.
