🔗 Share this article

Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated a scientist with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of 4,600 bears researched for nearly five decades in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her birthing den this springtime. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers marked for study.

In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second without a tag. Scientists aren't sure what became of the new cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need all the help they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "If females have the chance to take in an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the bears."

Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of living into maturity, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their odds.

The cubs appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the bear family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will learn from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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