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Researchers monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

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

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her birthing den this spring. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers marked for research.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what became of the second cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using genetic samples.

"The bears need every advantage they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "If females have the chance to take in another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for the bears."

Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of surviving into adulthood, but having a mother providing care improves their chances.

The young bears are reported as healthy, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the bear family is expected to head out to sea ice, where the youngsters will learn from their mother how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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