JAPAN: A French Bulldog is the adoptive mother to a Bengal tiger cub in Japan

A Bengal tiger cub that was rejected by its own mother has been adopted by an affectionate French Bulldog. A Bengal tiger cub in southwestern mother has a new mother -- two-year-old Nana-chan, a French Bulldog. The unusual mother-and-adopted-daughter situation came about after the cub which still does not have a name, was rejected by its mother. Zookeepers at the Shirotori Zoo in Kagawa prefecture started to feed the cub born on April 26 of this year with a bottle. But soon Nana-chan the affectionate bulldog, who had just given birth to a stillborn puppy of her own, met the cub and adopted her as her own. "The baby tiger also seems to believe the dog is her real mother. She always calls out to the dog to give her milk by crying loudly," said zookeeper Yuki Matsumura. But the situation can't stay like this forever. The tiger cub is now two weeks old and is starting to catch up in size and weight to her foster mother. Once she reaches a certain size, the zoo admits the tiger cub may have to be moved to the tiger enclosure. END

ITN Source | May 13, 2007

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