Rare pandas find a new surrogate mum

Two abandoned red panda cubs are thriving at a northern China zoo thanks to the milk and loving care of a surrogate mother dog.

The cubs, born on 25 June, were ignored by their mother after it gave birth in front of a crowd at Taiyuan Zoo in China's Shanxi province. "No one knew she was pregnant," employee Ha Guojiang said. "Her plump body and bushy hair disguised her protruding belly until the babies were born. We hurriedly went about to find a wet nurse for them."

The dog wet nurse, belonging to a farmer from a nearby suburb, was selected from two other candidates that had recently given birth.



The canine is now raising the two cubs like its own offspring - sometimes even refusing to feed its own pup, Ha added.

At three weeks old, the baby cubs have not opened their eyes yet but have doubled in length to 20cms (8ins).

Unlike the more well-known, bear-like giant pandas, red pandas resemble raccoons with long bushy tails. There are believed to be fewer than 2,500 adult red pandas in the world.