Orphaned polar bear cubs coming to Winnipeg zoo

A pair of orphaned polar bear cubs that were rescued in northern Manitoba this week will be coming to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, according to the provincial government.

The 10-month-old cubs, a male and female, were spotted by Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship staff travelling by helicopter along the Hudson Bay shore near York Factory, Man., on Wednesday.

The cubs are undergoing a medical examination and will be relocated to Winnipeg, where they'll live at the zoo's International Polar Bear Conservation Centre.

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"Despite an extensive search, efforts to find the mother were unsuccessful. Without the protection of their mother, the cubs would almost certainly not survive," the province stated in a news release Friday.

"Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship determined the most appropriate course of action was to relocate the bears to the IPBCC."

Once they arrive in Winnipeg, the cubs will undergo the standard 30-day quarantine period, during which time they'll be kept away from other animals and the public.