Polar Bear Maternal Figure Adopts Youngster in Rarely Recorded Instance
Scientists tracking free-roaming polar bears in northern Canada observed something exceedingly rare this fall: a female bear taking in a cub that was not genetically her own.
The five-year-old mother and her nearly year-old cubs were observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale renowned for its polar bear population.
"It's unusual," remarked a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "The reasons are unclear why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."
It's only the 13th known case of adoption out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in the area.
The mother bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this springtime. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists marked for research.
In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second that was untagged. Researchers are uncertain what became of the new cub's birth mother, but they are trying to identify her using genetic samples.
"The bears need all the help they can get in the current era with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the chance to pick up an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, it's a positive development for the bears."
Polar bears in the natural world only have a 50% chance of surviving into maturity, but having a maternal figure caring for them boosts their chances.
The young bears appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will likely stay with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.
Following this, the bear family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the youngsters will learn from their mother how to catch prey and survive on their own.
"It is heartening to know that the bears are looking out for each other," concluded the scientist.