Scientists record rare polar bear cub adoption in northern Canada

Scientists studying polar bears in northern Canada have documented a rare case of cub adoption after spotting a mother polar bear with two offspring near the Arctic town of Churchill, according to a report Wednesday.

Broadcaster CBC News reported that the sighting took place in mid-November in the province of Manitoba, a vast region in central Canada that stretches into the Arctic.

Researchers from Polar Bears International later confirmed that one of the cubs did not belong to the mother, marking the 13th known adoption case within the western Hudson Bay polar bear population.

"When we got confirmation that this was an adoption, I had a lot of mixed feelings, but mostly good," said Alysa McCall, staff scientist with Polar Bears International and director of conservation outreach, adding that "it's just another reason why this species is so incredible, why they're so fascinating and interesting, and it gives you a lot of hope when you realize that polar bears may be looking out for each other out there."

Evan Richardson, a polar bear research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the same mother was seen earlier this year emerging from a denning area in Wapusk National Park, south of Churchill, with only one cub.

Months later, two cubs were observed to be travelling with the mother polar bear. Richardson said: "It's not that frequent though because in our long-term study we have over 4,600 individual bears that we've known over the last 45 years, and literally hundreds and hundreds of litters (of cubs)."

The CBC News report noted that researchers estimate the mother is about five years old, with both cubs aged 10 to 11 months. ,

"We really think it's just because [polar bears are] so maternally charged and such good mothers, and they just can't leave a cub crying on the tundra. So they pick them up and take them along with them," Richardson said.