Search on for at least 3 orphaned black bear cubs on North Shore

Vancouver -

Animal advocates on the North Shore are asking the public to be on the lookout for at least three black bear cubs believed to have been orphaned in recent incidents.

The North Shore Black Bear Society says the BC Conservation Officer Service has killed two mother bears this week in West Vancouver, orphaning young cubs in the process.

The first bear was killed after entering a home on Gisby Street in the district's Westmount neighbourhood earlier this week. The mother bear likely had two cubs, according to black bear society executive director Luci Cadman.

The second bear was severely injured Thursday after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 1, near the Caulfeild exit, Cadman said. Conservation officers euthanized the bear, which appeared to have been producing milk for at least one cub, according to a post on the society's Facebook page. 

So far, none of the orphaned cubs have been located, and the society is urging North Shore residents to keep an eye out for them and report any sightings to the conservation officer service and the black bear society.

"They're about the size of a cat," Cadman said of the orphaned cubs.

"They're incredibly vulnerable to vehicles (and) other wildlife," she added. "They're relying on their mothers' milk and now they've been orphaned. They will not survive without intervention."

Cadman said the society has received calls about other young bears in the area, but none of them are young enough to be the missing cubs.

Bears over a year old are able to survive on their own and will not be rehabilitated or given medical treatment in B.C., Cadman said.

If the orphaned cubs are found, they will be taken to Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley, she added.