Animal maternal love: At the zoo in the long-disputed Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a shepherd adopted four white tiger cubs that were rejected by their mother after birth. It is considered extremely rare that it is possible to force baby animals on a mother of a different species. Fortunately, in this case it worked.
According to zoo director Savely Vashura, the female Bengal tiger has not adopted her cubs. “She was being watched, she was not feeding her.” The newborn big cats were therefore removed from the enclosure and initially fed normal milk. “That was on the first day. Basically, though, they won’t survive if they’re not cared for. They have to drink breast milk,” said Vashura.
Her adoptive mother had nursed her own puppies for two months. She now feeds the four young tiger cubs, who happily take the bitch’s milk. Zoo director Vashura speculates that the tigress’s behavior may have been caused by a “post-war syndrome” associated with being in a conflict zone — the city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast has been heavily disputed.
Animals that are no longer in the wild
The first reports of white tigers date back to the 16th century. The last free-living specimen was shot down in 1958. Today, the rare animals only live in zoos or in shows, such as Siegfried and Roy’s in Las Vegas. Most, if not all, of the animals alive today are descendants of a male Bengal tiger captured in India in 1951 and used for breeding.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
