Arctic Ursine Mother Takes In Cub in Infrequently Recorded Case
Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not biologically her own.
The half-decade-old mother and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were observed and captured on camera during the yearly polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.
"It's unusual," stated a scientist with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it occurs...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."
It's only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering 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 birthing den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which researchers marked for study.
In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the initially tagged cub and another without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the second cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to identify her using DNA analysis.
"The bears need every advantage they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "If females have the opportunity to pick up another cub and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the bears."
Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of surviving into adulthood, but having a maternal figure providing care boosts their odds.
The cubs appear to be healthy, according to experts, and they will likely stay with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.
Following this, the family is anticipated to venture out to the frozen ocean, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to hunt seals and live on their own.
"It's just nice to know that the animals are looking out for each other," concluded the researcher.
