US EditionPolar Bear Mother Adopts Cub in Rarely Documented Case
Researchers documented one of 13 known polar bear adoptions in 45 years, highlighting maternal care that boosts cub survival chances amid a vulnerable species.
- Weeks ago, Canadian researchers captured video during the annual polar bear migration along Western Hudson Bay in Churchill, Manitoba showing a wild female polar bear caring for an adopted cub.
- Researchers first saw the mother in spring as she left her maternity den, with just one tagged cub; only 13 adoptions have been documented in the study population over 45 years.
- Weeks ago, researchers encountered the mother bear again and noted a second untagged cub; both cubs are 10 to 11 months old and likely remain with her until about 2.5 years.
- After reviewing the data, researchers confirmed the adoption but lack information on the adopted cub's biological mother and are pursuing genetic sampling efforts.
- With about 26,000 polar bears worldwide, researchers say such adoptions have conservation importance as the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as vulnerable due to sea-ice loss.
37 Articles
37 Articles
Researchers monitoring wild polar bears in the north of Canada were witnesses of an extremely rare event: a bear adopted a baby that was not biologically its own, reports BBC. Ursoaica at the age of...
Researchers have documented an extremely rare behavior: a polar bear adopted a foreign cub in Canada. Only a few similar cases have been observed in 45 years.
It's rare to document such a case, but a polar bear in northern Canada has adopted a cub that is not biologically her own. The mother bear was first spotted this spring when she emerged from her den with a single cub, and researchers tagged the cub for study. When she was spotted again later, she had already given birth to two cubs. Here's the catch: Scientists say it's unclear what happened to the adopted cub's biological mother, but they are t…
Researchers in northern Canada observe the rare case of adoption between polar bears and capture, in the video that precedes these lines, a wild female caring for a baby that is not hers.Continue reading...
The female had previously set off from Churchill, Canada, with one chick, but returned with two, only one of which was hers.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Su-jin = A polar bear was spotted adopting an orphaned cub in Canada and caring for it like its own child, AFP and other news agencies reported on the 17th (local time)...
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