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Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in northern Canada observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old maternal bear and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and filmed during the annual polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

"It's unusual," remarked a researcher with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it is a rare event at all."

It's only the thirteenth documented instance of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in the area.

The female bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists marked for research.

In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Researchers aren't sure what became of the second cub's biological mother, but they are trying to locate her using genetic samples.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears 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 population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into maturity, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their chances.

The cubs appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

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

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