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Researchers tracking free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The five-year-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale 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 happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

This represents only the 13th known case of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for nearly five decades in that region.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her birthing den this springtime. Initially, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for research.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using genetic samples.

"The bears need every advantage they can get these days with climate change," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to take in an additional youngster and raise it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for the population."

Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of living into maturity, but having a mother caring for them boosts their odds.

The young bears appear to be 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 family is anticipated to venture out to sea ice, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother how to hunt seals and live on their own.

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