NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. - Orphaned black bear cubs from the Vancouver area will have a new rehab centre to call home until they can be released back into the wild.
Environment Minister Barry Penner says the facility will give juvenile black bears a chance to develop their natural foraging and denning skills so they can survive on their own.
The facility to be located on Fromme Mountain in North Vancouver will be an extension of the Critter Care Wildlife Society's centre in Langley.
The 32-hectare centre will be off-limits to the public and will be able to handle up to 25 bears at a time.
Black bears are sometimes orphaned after their mothers have to be destroyed because they've wandered into residential areas like North Vancouver, where they prowl for food in garbage bins.
About 700 bears are killed every year in B.C. because they become a danger to the public after they wander into neighbourhoods.
