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Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," remarked a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know 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 almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she came out from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had one cub, which researchers tagged for study.

In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need every advantage they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up another cub and care for it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their odds.

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

Next, the bear family is anticipated to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother how to catch prey and live on their own.

"It is heartening to know that the bears are looking out for each other," added the scientist.