For ms. marzipan
Mom just sent me one of those multiply-forwarded emails, but clearly this one should have gone to marzipan-pig ...
In a California zoo, a tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Due to complications, the cubs were born prematurely and died shortly after birth.
The mother recovering from delivery, began to decline in health. The veterinarians felt the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into depression. They decided if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she'd improve.
After checking with zoos across the country, the news was there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The vets tried something that had never been done in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of another species. The only orphans that could be found, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.
The mother recovering from delivery, began to decline in health. The veterinarians felt the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into depression. They decided if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she'd improve.
After checking with zoos across the country, the news was there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The vets tried something that had never been done in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of another species. The only orphans that could be found, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.