Arctic Bear Mother Adopts Youngster in Rarely Documented Instance

Scientists monitoring wild polar bears in northern Canada observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The five-year-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale known for its polar bear population.

"This is uncommon," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "The reasons are unclear why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."

It's only the thirteenth documented instance of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears studied for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she came out from her birthing den this spring. Initially, she had one cub, which researchers tagged for study.

In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. Scientists are uncertain what happened to the new cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need all the help they can get these days with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in another cub 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 surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their odds.

The young bears are reported as in good condition, according to experts, and they will likely remain with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Following this, the bear family is expected to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.

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