🔗 Share this article

Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," remarked a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

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

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

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to identify her using genetic samples.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."

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

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

Next, the bear family is expected to venture out to sea ice, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and survive on their own.

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