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Researchers monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this fall: a female bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

It's only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of 4,600 bears studied 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 marked for research.

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 second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need all the help they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to pick up another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their odds.

The cubs appear to be in good condition, according to experts, and they will likely stay with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and live on their own.

"It's just nice to know that the bears are caring for each other," concluded the scientist.