Four newborn bear cubs made for some weekend drama involving Marineland and one of its young employees.

On Thursday, an employee of the Niagara Falls theme park posted pictures of the cubs on her Facebook page, along with details about how she said she saved them.

"Today was one heck of a day," she wrote, explaining she discovered crying cubs while cleaning the bear dens. When she brought the matter to her boss, she said she was told to leave them be and that "nature will handle this."

The employee took that to mean the male bears would eat the newborns.

"There was no way I was leaving without them," she posted. "I did everything I could to save these babies."

The employee said she used a fish net to retrieve three of the cubs, but a fourth couldn't be saved: "One of the male bears killed it."

The employee said she was the only person "willing" to go into a narrow den to retrieve the cubs.

"They weren't getting me out of that bear pen unless I had those babies. I was furious that I couldn't save the last one but I am proud enough to have been able to save three of them."

She said the cubs were then given to a vet for 24-hour watch, "and then I will be raising them until they can go back in with the rest of their family."

The post caught the attention of media and Marineland critics over the weekend, and was reposted by former employee Phil Demers, whose battle with the park resulted in a $1.5-million lawsuit filed against him in 2013 and which still hasn't been resolved.

In a response posted on Facebook Sunday, Demers referred to a 2012 directive by Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) that Marineland put its captive bears on birth control "because cubs were being eaten."

"Here we are seven years later. Babies are not bear food."

Contacted by The Niagara Falls Review Sunday night, the Marineland employee declined an interview, saying she "didn't realize my post was on public." She feared she was "probably" going to be fired.

In a written response to The Review sent Monday, Marineland said the employee's Facebook post was not an "accurate reflection" of what happened.

The park said all female bears have been on birth control since 2013, administered through annual injections. The last injections were given last April 23. The park blamed the "lack of certainty with any single form of contraceptive" for the recent births.

Marineland said its 16 bears are all rescues from places "unable to care for them," and all staff are given "written protocols" for interacting with them. At no point, the park stressed, is an employee allowed in the bear enclosure on their own.

The park said six employees were on site when the cubs were heard and removed, and a member of the veterinary staff was immediately called.

"The cubs were not facing any physical threat from male bears, but there was a concern about the mothers being able to care for them and keep them safe."

The cubs were taken to an on-site care centre, were put on fluids and are being monitored 24 hours per day. They have "stabilized" and gained weight since.

At no point, the park stated, were the bears removed from the park.

The employee has since deleted her social media post and has not been fired.

"She will remain a member of our team going forward and we trust this will be a teachable moment for her and team members," Marineland said.

- Marineland to sell five beluga whales to Connecticut facility

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

- Ottawa passes legislation that bans whale and dolphin captivity in Canada

- Two Marineland belugas OK'd for transfer to Spain for study

- Tweet revenge: Demers says Marineland called cops over Twitter post