Dog Nurses Rare Liger Cubs

All together now: Awwwww. Four newborn liger cubs, the rare offspring of a male lion and female tiger, were abandoned by their mother earlier this month. Fortunately, staff at China’s Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo found a dog who had recently given birth and could nurse the surviving cubs after two died of weakness. Amusingly, the AP notes that “ligers are very rare and are sometimes bred in zoos by mistake,” but does not give any hint as to how such an error might occur. (More liger stories.)