By Associated Press - Thursday, May 28, 2015

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - State wildlife officials euthanized two black bear cubs after their mother was killed in a collision with a motorcycle.

Juneau police say the sow ran in front of the motorcycle Thursday.

The driver, identified only as a 58-year-old man, was wearing a helmet and taken to a hospital for treatment of what police Sgt. Chris Gifford called serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Stephanie Sell, an area management biologist with the Department of Fish and Game, said the agency responded to a call to pick up a dead bear but realized the sow had been lactating. She says two young cubs were found in a tree nearby.

She says no placement was available for them, and they would have suffered if they had been left on their own.

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