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Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The five-year-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," 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 thirteenth documented instance of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.

The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her birthing den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which scientists tagged for research.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the new cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to identify her using DNA analysis.

"These animals need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance 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 wild only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into maturity, but having a mother caring for them boosts their chances.

The young bears appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.

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

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