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

The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

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

The female bear was first captured as she came out from her birthing den this spring. Initially, she had a single offspring, which scientists tagged for study.

In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Researchers are uncertain what happened to the second cub's birth 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," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to take in an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the population."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into maturity, but having a mother providing care improves their odds.

The young bears appear to be in good condition, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the family is expected to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.

"It's just nice to know that the animals are caring for each other," concluded the researcher.