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

The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the annual polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," remarked a scientist with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it occurs...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 nearly five decades in the area.

The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which researchers 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 are uncertain what became of the second cub's biological mother, but they are trying to locate her using genetic samples.

"The bears need every advantage they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to pick up another cub and raise it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the population."

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 cubs are reported as healthy, researchers said, and they will likely stay with their adoptive mother until they are about 30 months of age.

Next, the bear family is expected to venture out to sea ice, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.

"It is heartening to know that the bears are looking out for each other," added the scientist.