Arctic Bear Mother Adopts Youngster in Infrequently Documented Instance

Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something exceedingly rare this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the annual polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," stated a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

It's only the 13th known case of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The female bear was first captured as she came out from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which scientists marked for study.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists aren't sure what happened to the second cub's biological mother, but they are trying to identify her using genetic samples.

"The bears need all the help they can get these days with climate change," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the bears."

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

The cubs appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

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

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