When a rare Siberian tiger gave birth to two baby cubs at a zoo in Sochi, Russia, the cubs’ mother refused to feed them. Fortunately, the cubs were adopted by Shar-Pei named Cleopatra – who now breastfeeds and mothers the tigers, Clyopa and Plyusha.
The cubs were born in late May in a zoo at the Oktyabrsky health resort in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Cleopatra had recently given birth to a litter of puppies herself, and freely accepted the cubs, who live with Cleopatra, her puppies, and a cat called Masyanya.
Zoo assistant director Viktoria Kudlayeva said the dog is a superb mother to the cubs. “She accepted them right away,” Kudlayeva said. “She’s cleaning them and breast feeding them as if they were her own. And they also sleep together.”
All are living under the same roof at a house in Sochi, western Russia, with owner Yekaterina Khodakova and her 18-month-old son Gleb.