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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in northern Canada observed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a female bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated 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."

It's only the 13th known case of fostering out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

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

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists aren't sure what became of the second cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need every advantage they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to take in an additional youngster and care for it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care boosts their chances.

The cubs are reported as healthy, 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 venture out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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