Arctic Bear Mother Takes In Youngster in Infrequently Recorded Instance

Scientists tracking wild polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a female bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its polar bear population.

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

This represents only the 13th known case of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The female bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. 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 two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Scientists are uncertain what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using genetic samples.

"These animals 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 another cub and care for it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their odds.

The young bears appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the bear family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will learn from their mother how to catch prey and live on their own.

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