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Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old maternal bear and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"This is uncommon," remarked a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother 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 fall, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second without a tag. Scientists are uncertain what became of the new cub's biological mother, but they are trying to locate her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need every advantage they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to pick up an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing 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 probably stay with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Next, the bear family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and live on their own.

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