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Scientists tracking free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

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

"This is uncommon," stated a scientist with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...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 researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing 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 without a tag. Scientists aren't sure what happened to the new cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using genetic samples.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the bears."

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

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

Next, the bear family is expected to head out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will learn 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," concluded the researcher.