Officials at an east China zoo say two rare cubs, born to a male lion and a female tiger, are being nursed back to health by a kindly dog. She took over the nurturing duties, after the baby felines were abandoned by their mother.

Handlers at the Wildlife Zoo in Shandong Province say four "liger" cubs were born to the couple earlier this month. They add that the tiger mother fed her babies for four days, but then left them behind for unknown reasons.

Two died of malnutrition shortly afterwards.

The surviving pair of siblings initially had trouble drinking the dog's milk, but soon got used to the new flavor.