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Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a female bear adopting 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 yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

This represents only the 13th known case of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers tagged for research.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second without a tag. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new 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 a warming climate," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their odds.

The cubs are reported as in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the bear family is anticipated to venture out to sea ice, where the youngsters will learn from their mother how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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