Rejected lion cub adopted by sheepdog

WOJCIECHOW, Poland, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The owner of a Polish zoo said a lion cub rejected by his mother was adopted by a sheepdog who recently had a litter of puppies.

Krzysztof Zerdzicki, owner of the small zoo in Wojciechow, said the lion cub's mother refused to nurse him and the feline's father offered him only a single lick on the nose after his birth.

"When I picked up the little guy, the lioness came over to me and tapped me with her head as if to say: 'take care of him.' And then she left."

Zerdzicki said he turned to his old English sheepdog, Carmen, for help. He said the canine was "surprised, at first" by the little lion, but she quickly accepted the cub alongside her five puppies.

"She's been taking care of him, licking him, nursing him. His brother and sisters have also accepted him as one of their own," the zoo owner said.

He said the cub, dubbed Parys, requires more food than his canine siblings and Carmen has been accommodating him with extra meals.