5 Kipper & Mi-Lu

5. Kipper and Mi-Lu

A BABY deer rejected by its mother has been adopted by a pair of dogs.

The Pere David deer was one of twins born at Knowsley Safari Park near Liverpool. Believed to be the first twin Pere David deers born in captivity, baby Mi-Lu was rejected by his mother, possibly because she was expecting only one. Staff at the safari park were left with no choice but to hand-rear the fawn, which is only a few weeks old.

They were amazed when the park's dogs Geoffrey and Kipper, a lurcher and a Golden Retriever, took a shine to the new resident. The unlikely trio now sleep together as well as taking daily walks around the grounds.

Park manager David Ross said: "They normally only have one baby so we believe the mother may have been looking around and thinking, 'Hold on, why has nobody else got two?'.

"She only looked after one and ignored the other, she just did not want to know any more.

"Mi-Lu wasn't doing very well and none of the other deer seemed interested in him so we had to take him in."

Ultimately, staff hope to return Mi-Lu to the herd.

Pere David deer are originally from the China swampland where they were discovered in 1865 by the French missionary and explorer, Pere Armand David.

p6 - Tiger & Piglets -- From zoo near Bangkok