Watch: Orphaned bear cubs released into the wild

Two black bear (Ursus americanus) cubs orphaned last July when their sow was shot and killed in Colorado in a suspected case of poaching were released back into the wild. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers retrieved the cubs from a wildlife rehabilitation center and took them to an artificial den wildlife officers built on Pikes Peak.

Before placing the cubs in the den, CPW wildlife officers fitted the cubs with GPS ear tag transmitters as part of a new research project to find out happens to the bears when they leave the den. The GPS ear tags will allow CPW to track their movements once they emerge from hibernation and follow their progress as rehabbed adult bears.

Watch the CPW video below.