Arctic Bear Mother Takes In Youngster in Rarely Recorded Case
Researchers tracking free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.
The half-decade-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale known for its polar bear population.
"It's unusual," stated a scientist with an international bear organization. "The reasons are unclear 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 researched for almost fifty years in that region.
The female bear was first captured as she came out from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers tagged for research.
In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the new cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using DNA analysis.
"The bears need every advantage they can get these days with climate change," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to pick up another cub and care for it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."
Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of living into adulthood, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their chances.
The cubs appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.
Following this, the bear family is anticipated to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.
"It is heartening to know that the bears are looking out for each other," concluded the researcher.
