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Researchers tracking wild polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something exceedingly rare this autumn: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and filmed during the yearly polar bear migration along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area known for its polar bear population.

"It's unusual," remarked a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often 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 mother bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this spring. Initially, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for study.

In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and a second that was untagged. Scientists aren't sure 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 in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to pick up an additional youngster and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the bears."

Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of surviving into adulthood, but having a mother providing care improves their odds.

The young bears are reported as in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably remain with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Next, the family is expected to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will learn 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 researcher.