Four abandoned rare tiger cubs are breastfed by a dog
Heart-melting images show four tiger cubs being breastfed by a mother dog in a Chinese nature reserve.
The newborns include two rare golden tabby tigers, one white tiger and one snow-white tiger.
The tiger cubs are being taken care of by a mother dog, which also gave birth at a similar time.
A mother dog is pictured breastfeeding its two puppies and four tiger cubs in a Chinese zoo
The tiger cubs were born last week to two Bengal tigers and were given to a mother dog to be breastfed (left). Two of the newborns were the extremely rare Golden Tabby tigers (right)
Cubbing together! Heart-warming images uploaded today showing the love of a mother dog
According to People's Daily Online, the cubs belong to Xixiakou Nature Reserve in Rongcheng, Shandong Province.
Two five-year-old Bengal tiger mothers gave birth on June 7 and June 10.
However, the mothers did not wish to take care of their offspring.
Staff members at the reserve decided to bring the newborn to a new mother dog for breastfeeding.
It is reported that the mother dog had given birth to two little puppies at very similar times.
Surprisingly, the mother dog took the tiger cubs and shared the motherly love.
The newborn cubs were all of rare tiger species: one White tiger, one Snow-white tiger and two Golden Tabby tigers
The two puppies are comparatively smaller in size and struggling to compete with the cubs
Xixiakou Nature Reserve welcomed the four newborns and have been taken great care of them
Pictures posted online today show the four tiger cubs suckling from the mother dog, along with two other puppies.
All four tiger cubs are seen to have their eyes open.
The extremely rare Golden Tabby tiger, also known as Strawberry tigers, are considered to be an endangered species.