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Researchers monitoring free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada witnessed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a female bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.

The half-decade-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale known for its concentration of Arctic bears.

"It's unusual," stated 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."

This represents only the 13th known case of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears researched for nearly five decades in the area.

The mother bear was first captured as she came out from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers tagged for study.

In the autumn, she was spotted once more, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another that was untagged. Researchers are uncertain what happened to the second cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to locate her using DNA analysis.

"The bears need all the help they can get in the current era with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "If females have the opportunity to take in another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for the population."

Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a mother caring for them boosts their odds.

The cubs are reported as in good condition, according to experts, and they will probably remain with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.

Following this, the 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 live on their own.

"It is heartening to know that the animals are caring for each other," added the scientist.