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Researchers monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a female 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 observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," remarked 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 13th known case of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears studied for almost fifty years in the area.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this springtime. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers tagged for research.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and another without a tag. Scientists aren't sure what became of the new cub's biological mother, but they are trying to identify her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "If females have the opportunity to pick up another cub 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 surviving into adulthood, but having a mother providing care boosts their odds.

The young bears appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will probably remain with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the family is expected to venture out to sea ice, where the cubs will be taught from their mother bear how to catch prey and survive on their own.

"It's just nice to know that the bears are looking out for each other," added the scientist.