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Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a mother 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 filmed during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

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

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

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to identify her using genetic samples.

"These animals need every advantage they can get these days with a warming climate," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and successfully wean it, 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 mother 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 family is anticipated to head 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 scientist.