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Scientists tracking 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 yearly polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

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

This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in the area.

The mother bear was first captured as she came out from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the new cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need every advantage they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to take in another cub and raise 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 living into maturity, but having a mother providing care improves their chances.

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

Next, the bear family is expected to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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