🔗 Share this article

Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something exceedingly rare 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 spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its polar bear population.

"It's unusual," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "The reasons are unclear why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

It's only the 13th known case of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears studied for nearly five decades in the area.

The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this spring. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers marked for study.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another without a tag. Researchers are uncertain what happened to the second cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need all the help they can get these days with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in another cub and raise it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into maturity, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their chances.

The cubs are reported as in good condition, according to experts, and they will probably remain with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will be taught from their mother how to hunt seals and live on their own.

"It's just nice to know that the animals are caring for each other," added the researcher.