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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

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

It's only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of 4,600 bears studied for almost fifty years in the area.

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

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and another without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the second cub's biological mother, but they are trying to locate her using genetic samples.

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

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

The young bears appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the family is anticipated to venture 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 animals are looking out for each other," added the researcher.