SERBIA: Dog adopts panther cub in Serbian zoo

A two-weeks old panther has been adopted by a dog after its mother not only refused to feed it, but also attempted to kill it in the Belgrade Zoo. The veterinarians at the Serbian zoo were worried the panther mother would kill its newborn cub, as she has done with all new arrivals since 1999. So rather than take the risk, they paired the cub up with a Rhodesian Ridgeback who had just given birth to eight puppies. The panther cub now has to battle with eight newborn Ridgebacks for milk from her adopted mother, and needs assistance from zoo-keepers to compete with the much stronger puppies. Director of Belgrade Zoo, Vuk Bojovic, said the mother panther may have been traumatised by the sound of bombs from NATO air strikes and has killed all her cubs since 1999. He acknowledged the matching of a panther with a Ridgeback is a very unusual one. "They are deathly enemies, because the panther cub's feeder is a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog. They are trained to hunt lions and other big cats, but we are sure that the panther cub will grow up with its new family despite their nature. That's why we decided to give her the name Milica," Bojovic said. Milica means "the sweet one." It's hoped Milica and her new family will attract many visitors to the Belgrade Zoo despite the very high temperatures in the Serbian capital.

ITN Source | July 28, 2007

Tags:. .because. .thats. .name. .hoped. .deathly