🔗 Share this article

Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something remarkably uncommon 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 observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area renowned for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

It's only the 13th known case of fostering out of 4,600 bears studied for nearly five decades in the area.

The female bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which scientists marked for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the original 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 genetic samples.

"These animals need every advantage they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the chance 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 maternal figure caring for them improves their chances.

The young bears appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

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

"It's just nice to know that the bears are looking out for each other," added the researcher.