Researchers tracking free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: 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 observed and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area renowned for its polar bear population.
"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "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 adoption out of 4,600 bears studied for nearly five decades in the area.
The female bear was first captured as she came out from her birthing den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which researchers tagged for research.
In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Researchers aren't sure what became of the new cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.
"The bears need all the help they can get these days with a warming climate," commented a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the population."
Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into maturity, but having a maternal figure providing care improves their chances.
The young bears appear to be in good condition, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.
Following this, the family is expected to head out to sea ice, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.
"It's just nice to know that the bears are caring for each other," added the researcher.
