Arctic Bear Mother Adopts Cub in Infrequently Recorded Instance
Researchers tracking free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada observed something remarkably uncommon this fall: a mother bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.
The half-decade-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an area 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 fostering out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in the area.
The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists marked for research.
In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and another that was untagged. Researchers aren't sure 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 these days with climate change," noted a polar bear scientist. "If females have the chance to pick up another cub and raise it and see it to independence, it's a positive development for the population."
Polar bears in the wild only have a 50% chance of living into maturity, but having a maternal figure caring for them improves their chances.
The cubs appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.
Next, the bear family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to hunt seals and survive on their own.
"It's just nice to know that the bears are caring for each other," concluded the scientist.
