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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a female bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

"It's unusual," stated a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it is a rare event at all."

It's only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of 4,600 bears studied for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. Initially, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for research.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to identify her using genetic samples.

"These animals need all the help they can get these days with climate change," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in an additional youngster and raise it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the population."

Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of surviving into maturity, but having a maternal figure caring for them improves their chances.

The cubs appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the bear family is expected to head out to sea ice, where the youngsters will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and live on their own.

"It is heartening to know that the bears are looking out for each other," concluded the scientist.