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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

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

It's 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 first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. Initially, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for study.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second without a tag. Scientists are uncertain what happened to the new cub's birth mother, but they are trying to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in another cub and care for it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into maturity, but having a mother providing care boosts their chances.

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

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

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