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Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a female bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old maternal bear and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the yearly polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated a scientist with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it happens...but we know it is a rare event at all."

It's only the 13th known case of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in the area.

The mother bear was initially tagged as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers marked for research.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and another 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.

"The bears need every advantage they can get these days with a warming climate," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in another cub and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the wild only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them improves their odds.

The young bears appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the bear family is anticipated to head out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother how to catch prey and live on their own.

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