In an extraordinary event that has captivated wildlife researchers, a female polar bear in Canada has been observed adopting a second cub, a phenomenon so rare it has been recorded only a handful of times in nearly five decades of study.
A Surprising Discovery on the Ice
The remarkable story centres on a bear known to scientists as X33991. When researchers from Polar Bears International and Environment and Climate Change Canada first fitted her with a GPS collar in the spring, she was caring for a single cub. However, a sighting last month revealed she was now accompanied by two cubs of roughly the same age, confirming a highly unusual adoption.
Evan Richardson, a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, explained the likely scenario. "Female polar bears are really good moms and so they’re just primed for looking after and caring for their offspring," he said. "We think if there’s a little cub that’s bawling on the coast and has lost its mother, these females just can’t help themselves but to take them on." He described the behaviour as a "really curious" aspect of polar bear life history.
An Exceptionally Rare Event
The bears are part of the Western Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation, one of the most closely monitored groups in the world. Over 45 years, scientists have tracked the lives of some 4,600 bears. Within this vast dataset, this adoption event is only the 13th ever witnessed.
"Polar bear adoptions are very rare and unusual and we don’t know why they happen," said Alysa McCall of Polar Bears International, calling the sight "amazing" to witness. The two cubs, believed to be 10 or 11 months old, appear healthy and are expected to stay with their adoptive mother for another year and a half, learning vital survival skills on the sea ice.
Hope and Uncertainty for the Cubs' Future
While the adoption significantly boosts the orphaned cub's chances, survival in the Arctic remains a formidable challenge. Half of all polar bear cubs do not reach adulthood, and of the 13 documented adoption cases, only three cubs are known to have survived.
Researchers plan to analyse genetic samples to determine if the cub's biological mother is known and possibly still alive. In past instances, some adoptions turned out to be a "switching of litters" rather than a true orphan scenario. "We might never know what happened to the mother," McCall admitted.
Despite the uncertainties, the event provides a poignant glimpse into the complex social world of these apex predators. "It gives you a lot of hope," McCall reflected, "when you realise that maybe, polar bears are looking out for each other."
