Polar Bear Maternal Figure Takes In Cub in Rarely Recorded Case
Scientists tracking free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions witnessed something exceedingly rare this fall: a mother bear taking in a cub that was not biologically her own.
The five-year-old maternal bear and her 10- to 11-month-old cubs were spotted and filmed during the annual polar bear migration along the Western Hudson Bay near the Manitoba town of Churchill, an locale renowned for its concentration of Arctic bears.
"It's unusual," remarked a researcher with a polar bear conservation group. "We don't really know why it happens...but we know it doesn't happen often at all."
This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of nearly five thousand bears studied for almost fifty years in the area.
The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her birthing den this spring. At the time, she had one cub, which scientists tagged for study.
In the autumn, she was seen again, but this time with two cubs - the original cub and another that was untagged. Scientists aren't sure what became of the new cub's biological mother, but they are attempting to identify her using genetic samples.
"These animals need all the help they can get these days with climate change," noted a polar bear scientist. "When mother bears have the opportunity to take in an additional youngster and care for 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 mother caring for them improves their chances.
The young bears are reported as healthy, researchers said, and they will probably stay with their mother until they are about 30 months of age.
Following this, the bear family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear 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.
