Dog nurses tiger cubs
2007-05-17 12:35
Beijing - It's a dog's life for three newborn tiger triplets in eastern China.
The cubs, who officials at the Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World in Shandong province are so far just calling "One", "Two" and "Three", have been nursed by a dog since they were rejected by their tiger mother shortly after birth 10 days ago, said Paomaling manager Chen Yucai.
The trio's adoptive mother, a mixed breed farm dog named "Huani", is expected to nurse the tigers for about a month or until their appetites outpace her supply, Chen said.
Chen said it is common for Chinese zoos to use surrogate dog mothers to nurse rejected tiger cubs. Huani has nursed tigers from Paomaling before, he said.
Paomaling has previously put dog urine on rejected cubs' fur to make the surrogate think she was nursing her own puppies, but the zoo didn't bother with the urine this time because Huani seemed not to mind nursing the tigers, Chen said.
"The family is getting along well and seems to enjoy each other," he said.
- AP