Should bears that wander into humans’ lives be destroyed? After six years, Bryce Casavant is sharing the story of his decision that day and the long battle that followedNancy MacdonaldVancouverPublished Yesterday

Bryce Casavant is photographed with a copy of an original painting of black bear cubs Athena and Jordan by artist Michael Schutte.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Globe and MailCommentsListen to article

Two aging black bears are living out their days in the lush, loamy rainforests of northern Vancouver Island thanks to Bryce Casavant. Six years ago, the former conservation officer refused an order to kill the bears. They were infants at the time, weighing a little over 10 pounds apiece. He called the male Jordan and the female Athena – for his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who had been born profoundly ill. The ginger-haired former military officer wasfired for declining to kill the cubs.

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