🔗 Share this article

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

The five-year-old maternal bear and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated a scientist 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 nearly five decades in that region.

The female bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists marked for study.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and another without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the new cub's biological mother, but they are trying 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. "If females have the chance to pick up another cub and raise 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 living into maturity, but having a maternal figure providing care boosts their chances.

The young bears appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will probably 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 youngsters 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 looking out for each other," added the scientist.