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| In this photo taken on Thursday, May 19, 2011, a dog nurses two liger cubs at a zoo in Weihai in east China's Shandong province. Cong Wen of Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in eastern China says four cubs were born to a female tiger and a male lion on May 13. The tiger mom fed the ligers for four days then for unknown reasons abandoned them, she says. Chinese zoo workers brought in a dog to nurse them instead, but two died of weakness. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT |
The Associated Press
A Chinese zoo official says two rare cubs born to a male lion and a female tiger are being nursed by a dog after they were abandoned by their mother.
Cong Wen of Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in eastern China says four cubs called ligers were born to the lion and tiger earlier this month.
She said Tuesday the tiger mother fed the ligers for four days but then abandoned them for unknown reasons. Two died of weakness.
Cong said staff at the zoo in Shandong province found a dog who had just given birth to feed the surviving cubs.
She said the two cubs had trouble at first drinking milk from the dog but are now used to it.
Ligers are rare and are sometimes bred in zoos by mistake.
http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/24/2898589/dog-nurses-ligers-after-tiger.html
