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Scientists tracking free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions 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 nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an area renowned 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."

It's only the 13th known case of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears studied for nearly five decades in the area.

The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for research.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists aren't sure what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need every advantage they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "If females have the chance to take in an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care boosts their odds.

The cubs appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the bear family is anticipated to venture out to sea ice, where the youngsters will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and live on their own.

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