Dog takes over as nanny for tiger cubs at zoo

Parents question school’s slave auction poster

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Posters by fifthgraders that advertised slave auctions have been removed from the wall of an elementary school hallway after some parents questioned the assignment.

The South Orange School District is planning a community meeting to discuss whether the assignment is appropriate for fifth-graders, NJ.com reported.

Superintendent John Ramos said in a note to parents that the project at South Mountain Elementary School is part of a larger Colonial America unit that’s been used for 10 years. He said an anti-bias expert consulted by the district after parents raised concerns highlighted the fact that schools often skip over painful aspects of American history, and he said educators need to do a better job of “acknowledging the uglier parts of our past, so that children learn the full story.”

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo has called again on a canine to play the role of nanny for other animals’ babies.

The latest assignment for Blakely the Australian shepherd is to be a companion for three Malayan tiger cubs. Their mother’s maternal instincts didn’t kick in after their Feb. 3 birth. The six-year-old male dog provides snuggling, warmth and a climbable body.

Dawn Strasser, head of the Cincinnati Zoo’s nursery staff, says Blakely serves as “the adult in the room,” teaching them behaviours such as checking them when they get too rough.

Blakely has helped raise baby cheetahs, wallabies, bat-eared foxes and an ocelot, among other young animals.