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Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a female bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-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 Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"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."

This represents only the 13th known case of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears researched for nearly five decades in the area.

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her birthing den this springtime. Initially, she had a single offspring, which scientists tagged for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Researchers 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 in the current era with climate change," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."

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

The cubs appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably remain with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the bear family is anticipated to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.

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