Arctic Bear Mother Takes In Cub in Infrequently Recorded Case
Researchers monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a female bear adopting a cub that was not genetically her own.
The five-year-old maternal bear and her nearly year-old cubs were spotted and captured on camera during the annual polar bear journey along the Hudson Bay's western shore near Churchill, Manitoba, an locale known for its concentration of Arctic bears.
"It's unusual," stated a scientist with an international bear organization. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."
It's only the 13th known case of adoption out of nearly five thousand bears studied for almost fifty years in that region.
The female bear was first captured as she emerged from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which researchers marked for research.
In the fall, she was spotted once more, but this time with a pair of cubs - the original cub and a second without a tag. Researchers are uncertain what happened to 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 these days with a warming climate," commented a polar bear scientist. "If females have the opportunity to take in another cub and raise it and see it to independence, it's a good thing for the population."
Polar bears in the natural world only have a fifty-fifty survival rate of living into adulthood, but having a mother providing care improves their odds.
The cubs appear to be healthy, researchers said, and they will likely remain with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.
Next, the family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the youngsters will be taught from their mother 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 scientist.
