🔗 Share this article

Researchers tracking wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the annual polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale known for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," remarked a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

It's only the 13th known case of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for nearly five decades in that region.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for study.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new cub's biological mother, but they are trying to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need every advantage they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the chance to take in an additional youngster and care for it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the bears."

Polar bears in the wild only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their odds.

The young bears appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will likely remain with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

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

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