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Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area renowned for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," remarked a researcher with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

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

The mother bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her birthing den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists marked for research.

In the fall, 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 second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using genetic samples.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to take in 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 fifty-fifty survival rate of living into adulthood, but having a mother providing care boosts their chances.

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

Next, the bear family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother 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.