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Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in northern Canada observed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," stated a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this spring. Initially, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and another that was untagged. Researchers are uncertain what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using genetic samples.

"The bears need all the help they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to take in another cub and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into maturity, but having a mother caring for them boosts their odds.

The young bears appear to be in good condition, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.

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