A female African dog killed four of its own newborn puppies because it was scared by the sound of firecrackers that had been set off in Changsha Zoo, in Hunan's provincial capital, on Monday.

The incident took place on Monday evening, when the sound of exploding firecrackers roused the new mother from her sleep, said the Changsha Evening News. The dog, which had delivered two days ago, immediately became manic.

The mother dog proceeded to bite to death all four of its puppies, killing them all in less than a half hour.