Video: Dog suckles orphaned tiger cubs in Russia The cubs were born in the Oktyabrsky zoo in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia on 14 November. Two male cubs, named Olymp and Dar and one female cub called Tallim after her adoptive mother, were abandoned by their birth mother Bagira. Zoo staff advertised for a surrogate tiger mother but ended up filling the position with a white Swiss Shepherd. Although the cubs at first bared their claws and hissed at the dog, their adoptive mother nursed them patiently, lavishing her new brood with attention and nudging them playfully. According to zoo staff, the tiger cubs do not pose any threat to Tallim.