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Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its polar bear population.

"It's unusual," remarked a scientist with an international bear organization. "The reasons are unclear why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

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

The female bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Researchers aren't sure what became of the second cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for the population."

Polar bears in the wild only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into maturity, but having a mother caring for them improves their odds.

The cubs are reported as healthy, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

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

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