An abandoned wolf-cub has turned to an unconventional mother figure in a Siberian Zoo. A cat took over mothering responsibilities from a female wolf, who rejected her offspring.
The pup was born in late April and, despite the little wolf being in perfectly good health, his mother refused to feed him just four days after his birth. In order to save the wolf-cub, confused zoo workers had to come up with an unusual solution. They gave the cub to a cat who was feeding her own kittens at the time. The cat immediately accepted the cub and started to lick and feed him. Zoo workers said that the little wolf is doing fine in his new family, but developing more slowly than his siblings. The cub is being constantly monitored by the staff. It is not the first time the zoo, which is situated in the Siberian city of Novokuznetsk, has attracted public attention. Last October it saw the birth of three lion cubs, which is rare, as lions typically do not breed in captivity.