Arctic Ursine Mother Adopts Youngster in Rarely Recorded Instance
Scientists monitoring free-roaming polar bears in Canada's northern regions observed something remarkably uncommon this autumn: a female 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 observed and filmed during the annual polar bear journey along the Western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, an area known for its polar bear population.
"It's unusual," stated a researcher with an international bear organization. "The reasons are unclear why it occurs...but we know it is a rare event at all."
This represents only the thirteenth documented instance of fostering out of 4,600 bears researched for almost fifty years in that region.
The female bear was initially tagged as she came out from her maternity den this spring. At the time, she had a single offspring, which scientists tagged for research.
In the fall, she was seen again, but this time with a pair of cubs - the initially tagged cub and a second without a tag. Researchers aren't sure what happened to the new cub's birth mother, but they are attempting to locate her using genetic samples.
"These animals need every advantage they can get these days with climate change," noted a wildlife biologist. "When mother bears have the chance to take in an additional youngster and care for it and successfully wean it, 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 boosts their chances.
The young bears appear to be in good condition, researchers said, and they will probably remain with their adoptive mother until they are about two-and-a-half years old.
Following this, the family is anticipated to head out to sea ice, where the cubs will learn from their mother bear how to catch prey and live on their own.
"It's just nice to know that the bears are looking out for each other," concluded the researcher.