"Cabeza Y Cola De Un Dragón… Luchando Entre Sí"

En la parte de la cabeza… Dog Adopts Tiger Triplets

A Chinese Dog has become the surrogate mother of Tiger triplets born at a zoo in the country's eastern Shandong province. The mongrel bitch called Huani is suckling the Tiger cubs, imaginatively named One, Two and Three by staff at Jinan Paomaling Wild Animal World, because their mother rejected them shortly after birth 10 days ago.
The zoo manager, Chen Yucai, said Huani is expected to nurse the Tigers for about a month, or until their appetites outpace her milk supply. Mr Yucai said it was common for Chinese zoos to use Dogs as surrogate mothers for rejected Tiger cubs.
Zoo staff have previously put Dog urine on the fur of rejected cubs to make the surrogate think she is nursing her own pups. However, this time the zoo did not need to because Huani, who has nursed Tigers before, did not seem to mind caring for the cubs.
"The family is getting along well and seems to enjoy each other", Mr Yucai said.
A spokeswoman for London Zoo said staff tries to match an abandoned animal with a mother of the same species with young of a similar age wherever possible.
In the 1990s, an Asiatic Lion at the zoo abandoned her cub and staff successfully placed it with another Lion that had given birth to two cubs. The spokeswoman said the cub was placed in the surrogate mother's litter so it would acquire her smell and be accepted by her. Although the cub was initially reluctant to take on the new mother, the ‘adoption’ proved successful.
If a mother of the same species cannot be found, staff at London Zoo will try to find a companion animal for the abandoned young. Staff once placed an abandoned Tiger cub called Harry with an Akita hound, which he lived with for about nine months. The spokeswoman said it was preferable for the abandoned cub to imprint -the process by which an animal learns the characteristics of its parents- on a four-legged animal rather than a human being.

En la parte de la cola... China Criticised For 'Tiger Wine'
A recent poll declared the Tiger the world's most popular animal China has come under fire for allowing Tigers to be bred for the production of so-called “tiger bone wine”. The drink is reportedly made by steeping Tiger carcasses in rice wine. Those who drink the wine believe it makes them strong. Chinese delegates at the International Tiger Symposium in Nepal are arguing for the lifting of a current ban on the trade in Tiger bones and skins.
But other Asian nations with threatened Tiger populations want the ban to stay. Emotive issue There has been a forceful exchange of views on the issue at the symposium, according to the BBC correspondent in Kathmandu, Charles Haviland.
Experts say there are several reasons why Tiger numbers have drastically declined, but just one has grabbed the limelight, our correspondent says. The argument centres on the existence of so-called "Tiger Farms" in China, which have bred thousands of captive Tigers with the ostensible purpose of entertaining visitors.
But the conservation group WWF, which is chairing the symposium, says these farms are fronts for the production of Tiger bone wine.
WWF also says the captive Tigers cannot survive in the wild, and believes the production of wine and underhand trade in skin and bones also threaten to make wild Tiger poaching more lucrative. A senior WWF official said the discussions were heated, with Chinese academics saying their country should lift its ban on the trade in Tiger parts. But experts from states like Nepal and Bangladesh, which have threatened tiger populations, are urging that the ban should remain.
On Wednesday, a more formal forum of government delegations will begin discussing the fate of the majestic beast, which a recent television poll declared to be the world's most popular animal.

Esta es la situación dual del combate del Dragón contra sí mismo. Entonces, qué parte ganará ?