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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in northern Canada observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," 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."

It's only the thirteenth documented instance 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 maternity den this spring. At the time, she had one cub, which researchers tagged for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. 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 every advantage they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "If females have the chance to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the wild only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into maturity, but having a maternal figure caring for them improves their odds.

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

Following this, the family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs 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 looking out for each other," concluded the scientist.