Bears escape from New York wildlife refuge

April 4 (UPI) -- Two bears are on the loose after escaping from the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge in northern New York, state officials said.

The bears, which are not believed to be aggressive, escaped this weekend from the Wilmington refuge, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release obtained by the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Luve is a brown-colored bear and Ahote is black with a silver ear tag, the Press-Republican reported. The refuge co-owners adopted the bears after they were born into captivity.

Refuge co-owner Steve Hall told the Press-Republican that the bears should be able to smell their way back to their enclosure at the refuge, where there is food waiting for them.

"The bear is the only animal with a nose sharper than the wolf," Hall said. "They can smell the refuge, they can smell the poop they left behind."

The refuge, which works to rehabilitate sick or injured animals, wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday that the bears are believed to be within a three-mile radius of their enclosure.

The Department of Environmental Conservation asks anyone who spots the bears to call 1-844-332-3267.