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Researchers monitoring free-roaming 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 nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," remarked a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

This represents only the 13th known case of fostering out of 4,600 bears studied for almost fifty years in the area.

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

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Researchers are uncertain what happened to the second cub's biological mother, but they are trying to identify her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need all the help they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "If females have the chance to take in an additional youngster and raise it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their odds.

The young bears appear to be in good condition, according to experts, and they will likely stay with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the bear family is anticipated to head out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will learn from their mother how to hunt seals and live on their own.

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