Tiger cub seeks canine foster mom

Badaling Wildlife Park is seeking a suitable canine candidate to become a surrogate mother to an infant tiger whose mother has rejected it.

More than 10 residents had answered the park's appeal to find a dog to nurse the 1-month-old cub.

The cub's mother stopped suckling her baby about two weeks ago, said the park's marketing manager, surnamed Zhang. The tiger is being hand-fed with minced meat, porridge and milk, he said.

"Although the cub enjoys the food, it doesn't seem so lively as before," Zhang said, adding that more than 10 residents had called to offer their dogs as suitable candidates.

The selected dog will need to feed the tiger in the park for two to three months.

Staff members will take good care of the dog, and the dog owner would get a free park visit, he said.

Zhao Wei, 33, a resident who owns a toy poodle in Beijing, said that if his dog was nursing, he would definitely offer her services to the park.

"I'd be pleased to offer some help since the little tiger needs a mother so much," he said.

Dogs are frequently used as surrogate mothers for other mammals if the mothers reject the babies.

According to Zhang, a mother leopard also rejected her cub two years ago, and the park successfully recruited a dog to feed the little leopard.

Zhao Xinru, a professor of zoology at Beijing Normal University, said that using dog surrogates is now a well-accepted practice in the zoological world.

Animals can be vulnerable to noise or disturbances when they are nursing, and may stop feeding their offspring as a result.

"A change in their nature caused by being confined in a cage for too long is also a possible reason," Zhao said.

While having another animal adopt a tiger may influence its development, if the mother refuses to feed her baby, this is the best solution, Zhao noted.

"Zoo keepers could try putting tiger urine on the mother dog, making her more acceptable to the little tiger," Zhao said.

Qin Xiaona, director of the NGO Capital Animal Welfare Association, said that dogs are generally the preferred mammal to act as a surrogate, due to their benevolent characteristics and willingness to feed other animals.

"But I'm worried about the mother dog's puppies. I suggest the park allow the mother dog to suckle the tiger and her own pups together, or it would be cruel for her puppies, who also need to be fed," Qin said.