_updates.jpg)
Researchers could not believe their eyes when they witnessed that a mother polar bear in northern Canada had adopted a cub that was not biologically hers.
The five-year-old mother bear and her 10 to 11-month-old cub were observed and filmed on camera during the annual polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba.
Alyssa McCall, a scientist at Polar Bears International, shared, "It's unusual. We don't really know why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."
Out of 4,600 bears studied for over five decades in the town known for its polar bear population, this is only the 13th known case of adoption.
The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for study.
In the fall, she was seen with two cubs, one without a tag. Researchers are not sure what happened to the new cub's biological mother.
"The bears need all the help they can get these days with climate change," Evan Richardson, a polar bear scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said in a video statement to the BBC.
He added, "If females have the opportunity to pick up another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a good thing for bears in Churchill."
Polar bears in the wild only have 50% chance of surviving into adulthood, but having a mother caring for them significantly improves the odds.
