Dog breeding tiger lion

After being abandoned by her mother, two tiger lions are raised by a dog in a city in eastern China.

Two tiger lions are fed with the milk of a dog in the zoo Xixiaku, the city of Weihai. Photo: AP.

The BBC reported four tiger lions - a hybrid of male and female lions - born in Xixiakou zoo, Weihai city, Shandong province in early May but only two children lived. Mother tiger stopped breastfeeding for a few days after birth. So the zoo staff put a feeding dog in their cage.

Cong Wen, a zoo spokesman, said the experts did not know why the mother tiger did not breastfeed. According to Wen, at first two tiger lions refused to suck the dog's milk, but eventually they accepted "stepmother".

Lions and tigers are two different species in the Cat family, but they can still produce common offspring. Scientists claim that tiger lions are rare species and can only be born in captivity. They are larger than both parents and have the largest size in the Cat family.