Shar Pei Dog Nurtures Endangered Tiger Cubs in Russia

In an endearing turn of events, a Shar-Pei dog named Cleopatra in Sochi, Russia, has assumed the role of a mother to two abandoned Siberian tiger cubs.

Two Siberian tiger cubs, left alone by their mother in Russia, have found an unconventional caretaker in Cleopatra, a wrinkled and sandy-colored Shar Pei dog, as confirmed by a zoo worker.

The cubs were born at the Oktyabrsky health resort zoo in Sochi, a popular Black Sea resort, in late May.

Viktoria Kudlayeva, the assistant director of the zoo, revealed that the dog instantly embraced the cubs with utmost care and attention.

“She immediately accepted them,” Kudlayeva shared during a telephone interview. “She cleans them and nurses them as if they were her own. They even sleep together.”

In addition to Cleopatra’s care, the cubs, named Clyopa and Plyusha after their surrogate mother, are being fed goat’s milk.

Kudlayeva reassured that the cubs do not pose a threat to the dog, despite already displaying their claws and hissing.

“They are not aggressive and rely on her for nourishment,” she explained.

With fewer than 400 Siberian tigers, also known as Ussuri, Amur, or Manchurian tigers, remaining in the wild, primarily in Russia’s Far East, this heartwarming instance offers a glimpse of hope for the endangered species.