In a Russian wildlife park, there were two little lion cubs who got rejected by their mother. The lioness, a first-time mom named Sirona, gave birth to the two little cubs at the White Lion Park in Vladivostok, Russia. At first everything seemed alright, but the staff quickly realized that there was something wrong – the lioness was not properly caring for her cubs. The staff described Sirona as being “very introverted, reserved, and secretive,” and as a result, her two cubs began to suffer. The staff noticed them becoming “emaciated and dehydrated under her responsibility.
The park’s director, Viktor Agafonov, claimed that the lioness’s behavior was completely unnatural, explaining to MailOnline, “What the mother lion is doing is not quite normal. She is biting them. One cub seems even to have a little wound.” The park even had a video that they shared on their Instagram of the mother lion biting one of her cubs.
Fearing for the cubs’ future, the staff had no choice but to hand the cubs over to a foster mom. That is when they got help from a German Shepherd living at the wildlife park, Sandra. The sweet dog took to the cubs straight away, something that the staff found surprising as Sandra isn’t always a fan of felines.
Agafonov elaborated that Sandra took the little cubs in like they were her own. Agafonov said, “She decided to accept the little African lions into her family. She has a puppy, smaller than lion cubs. But the dog has enough milk because in the past she has fed eight puppies.” Agafonov further shared that the cubs were completely safe to drink Sandra’s milk, citing that it had all the appropriate nutrients needed for them to grow up and develop like normal. The park director then cited that he was quite proud of the dog and how well she cared for the lion cubs when they needed a mother.
While the development between the dog and the lion babies was extremely adorable, the zoo employees were definitely realistic about how long this bond could last. At some point, the lion cubs will grow up and they won’t be under Sandra’s care anymore. But for now, the adorable little family is an absolutely precious one.
