A black labrador retriever has assumed the role of mum to three liger cubs who were abandoned by their parents after being born in a zoo in Russia.
The triplets, who are the offspring of a lion and a tiger, had been rejected shortly after their birth at Sochi Zoo.
Zookeepers brought in Grona the labrador to see if she would take on the role of surrogate mother.
After some training, she accepted the ligers as her own and has started nursing and cleaning the cubs in place of their own biological parents, a tigress called Marusya and a lion called Simba.
Captured on camera, the liger cubs, who are now ten days old, can be seen feeding before they are then seen looking rather sleepy-eyed on a bed.
Ligers are believed to be the largest of all felines and males have been known to reach lengths of up to 12 feet.
They exist only in captivity and are often genetically or physically sterile and therefore unable to reproduce and continue their lineage.
Ligers tend to enjoy swimming, which is a characteristic of tigers, and are sociable like lions.
Grona the Labrador was brought in by zookeepers, who hoped that the dog would take on the role of surrogate mother
After some training, Grona accepted the ligers as her own and has started nursing and cleaning the cubs
The liger is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress, and the animal exists only in captivity
