Three bear cubs originally slated to be euthanized were trapped and relocated over the weekend. >> Download the FREE WMUR app Wildlife officials continue to search for the mother bear, however, and will trap and relocate her if and when she is found. According to Andy Timmons at New Hampshire Fish and Game, the mother has not been active for about a week and may be traveling due to breeding. The plan to trap and relocate the bears was a reversal of course for wildlife officials, who had previously decided that the mother bear and her three 1-year-old cubs needed to be euthanized because they had become too comfortable with humans. Two of the bears entered a Hanover home earlier this month. The original plan to euthanize the four bears sparked outrage among Granite Staters. Thousands of people signed a petition to save the bears, and Gov. Chris Sununu expressed his hope that the bears would be spared. Over the past two years, 32 bears (10 in 2015 and 22 in 2016) were killed in New Hampshire because of nuisance activity, Timmons said. In a typical year, 75 percent of the bears are shot by the public, with the rest of the bears shot by wildlife officers.

Three bear cubs originally slated to be euthanized were trapped and relocated over the weekend.

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Wildlife officials continue to search for the mother bear, however, and will trap and relocate her if and when she is found. According to Andy Timmons at New Hampshire Fish and Game, the mother has not been active for about a week and may be traveling due to breeding.

New Hampshire Fish and Game

The plan to trap and relocate the bears was a reversal of course for wildlife officials, who had previously decided that the mother bear and her three 1-year-old cubs needed to be euthanized because they had become too comfortable with humans. Two of the bears entered a Hanover home earlier this month.

The original plan to euthanize the four bears sparked outrage among Granite Staters. Thousands of people signed a petition to save the bears, and Gov. Chris Sununu expressed his hope that the bears would be spared.

Over the past two years, 32 bears (10 in 2015 and 22 in 2016) were killed in New Hampshire because of nuisance activity, Timmons said. In a typical year, 75 percent of the bears are shot by the public, with the rest of the bears shot by wildlife officers.