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Pets

Unlikely friends

A pig and a tiger, a monkey and a rabbit, a duck and a dog – these best buddy pairs make some very odd couples.

/ 22 PHOTOS

Image: Young boar,

A young boar that was named Freddy looks for food as it stands beside leading bull Mario in Ebergoetzen near Goettingen, central Germany, Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010. According to cattle owner Bodo Bertsch the young boar showed up among the herd of Galloway cattle about six weeks earlier and is feed from time to time by a cow. The farmer assumes that Freddy has been separated from his pack. (AP Photo/dapd, Stefan Simonsen)
Stefan Simonsen / dapd
A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania resident reports that her cat has struck up a special friendship with the neighboring wildlife, according to Lovemeow.com. Every morning, a local deer visits the cat, who reciprocates by grooming the much larger animal.  The deer expresses its affection by licking the friendly feline.

A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania resident reports that her cat has struck up a special friendship with the neighboring wildlife, according to Lovemeow.com. Every morning, a local deer visits the cat, who reciprocates by grooming the much larger animal. The deer expresses its affection by licking the friendly feline.
GERMANY-ANIMALS-DACHSHUND-TIGER-OFFBEAT

Female dachshund Bessi lays in a basket with a five-day-old baby tiger on May 20, 2009 at the wild animal park Ismer in Stroehen, western Germany. Dachshund \"Monster\", who initially adopted the baby tiger cast out by its mother, died in a car accident on May 19. Now, one-year-old Bessi has taken over this role. AFP PHOTO DDP/PHILIPP GUELLAND GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read PHILIPP GUELLAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Philipp Guelland / DDP
In this three picture combo, played out on the front walk of an Amish family in Middlefield, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, a black cat approaches a resting dog, and then makes herself quite comfortable with her new-found friend.  Family members, who preferred not to share their names, said that the dog belonged to a neighbor, and the feline was one of their many barn cats. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

In this three picture combo, played out on the front walk of an Amish family in Middlefield, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, a black cat approaches a resting dog, and then makes herself quite comfortable with her new-found friend. Family members, who preferred not to share their names, said that the dog belonged to a neighbor, and the feline was one of their many barn cats. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Amy Sancetta / AP
Image: Prudence The Piglet Thinking She Is A Dog

Oct 21, 2009 - Colchester, United Kingdom - Oh babe: Prudence the piglet thinking she is a dog and it is puppy love all round at the Wildlives Animal Sanctuary, Thorrington, Colchester. .....(Credit Image: © Andy Abbott /Whitehotpix)..USA ONLY (Credit Image: © Whitehotpix/ZUMAPRESS.com)
Andy Abbott / Whitehotpix
Image: Laith the lion licks Dima the tigress in their cage at Ghamadan Zoo near Amman

Laith the lion licks Dima the tigress in their cage at Ghamadan Zoo near Amman April 23, 2009. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN ODDLY ANIMALS)
Ali Jarekji / X00137
Image:

Owner Steph Tuft, 25, takes duck Essy on a lead for a walk with her Staffordshire cross dogs Rachka, aged 2 left, and DD, aged 4, in Bournemouth, England, Monday March 16, 2009. Essy, a nine-month-old Cherry Valley duck thinks she is a dog, and likes to walk with the other two pets.(AP Photo/Chris Ison-pa) **UNITED KINGDOM OUT: NO SALES: NO ARCHIVE:**
Chris Ison / PA
Image: Smaigel the cat nurses her kittens and four puppies at her owner Mohammad Al-Hamoury's house in Amman

Smaigel the cat nurses her kittens and four puppies at her owner Mohammad Al-Hamoury's house in Amman February 26, 2009. Smaigel is parenting the puppies whose mother died in a car accident. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN)
Muhammad Hamed / X02365
Image: Themba and Albert

Nov 11, 2008 - Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa - A baby elephant and a sheep may not appear to have much in common, but at the Shamwari Game Reserve these two animals have become the best of pals. Eight-month-old orphan Themba, whose name means 'hope' in Xhosa, struck up a friendship with wooly Albert after arriving at the reserve's animal hospital when he was just six months old. Themba's mum had fallen off a cliff and died at the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, where Themba was born. Shamwari's veterinary team were called in and monitored the young elephant in the weeks that followed, hoping he would be adopted by another elephant cow and would allow him to suckle. Unfortunately, this did not happen and the Shamwari team, with just hours to spare, swooped in to save the baby elephant from starving to death. Like humans, baby elephants need constant care and attention, so members of the team at the Shamwari Animal Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre take turns in sleeping with Themba, getting up to feed
Caters News / Caters News
Image: Pig is surrogate mother for tiger cubs at Sriracha Tiger Zoo

epa01691335 Tiger cubs in their feeding pen with a sow pig who has become its surrogate mother at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, Sriracha, near Pattaya, the host city for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus six summit, a popular beach resort in Thailand, about 160 km south east of Bangkok, Thailand, 08 April 2009. Pattaya is known as an entertainment city. Sriracha Tiger Zoo is among the largest tiger zoos in the world with on show more than 400 Bengal tigers, promoting unusual family groups called Happy Families of mixed species such as tigers, pigs and dogs, and mixed baby pigs with tiger mothers and tiger cubs with sows. Thailand hosts the ASEAN plus three and six summits including leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, with South East Asian leaders from 10 to 12 April. EPA/BARBARA WALTON
Barbara Walton / EPA
Image: BoonLua, long-tailed macaque, lives with rabbit in Ayutthaya province

BoonLua, a long-tailed macaque, lives with Toby, a rabbit, in Ayutthaya province about 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok September 6, 2008. BoonLua, the six-year-old wild monkey, lost both its legs and one arm during an attack by dogs three years ago. It dragged itself to a nearby temple where it received medical treatment and survived. He now lives in a custom built enclosure with the rabbit. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)
Sukree Sukplang / X90021
Image:

Three months old tiger cub Zoya, rejected by her mother, plays with Alsatian puppy Frida of the same age, in a special enclosure at the Warsaw zoo, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008. The dog owned by a zoo employee was introduced to the tiger so that she could have a companion for the next few months. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
Alik Keplicz / AP
Image: Rabbit On Top of a Hippo

Jul 06, 2008 - Wenling, Zhejiang, China - A small rabbit jumped onto the back of its neighbouring big hippo weighing 5.6 tonnes to cool off itself as the temperature keeps rising in east China. The rabbit did not realize the danger as it maybe thought it was on a cool ground until the hippo stood up to eat food. The poor stranded rabbit kept silence and stayed on top to avoid disturbing the jumbo. Finally the hippo entered a pool to cool off and the rabbit got a chance to escape. PICTURED: A rabbit stands on the back of a hippo at Zhejiang Wenling Zoo in Wenling city. (Credit Image: © Jiang Yongbing/Imaginechina/ZUMA Press) RESTRICTIONS: * North and South America Rights Only *
Jiang Yongbing / Imaginechina
Image:

A female monkey clutches a pup, as another monkey approaches, on a tree in Jammu, India, Friday, May 30, 2008. The monkey purportedly lost her child and has adopted the pup, according to locals. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)
Channi Anand / AP
Image: Young elk rescued from a flooding river is adopted by a female dog

epa01792988 A handout picture released by the Inje Municipal Government shows a young elk rescued from a flooding river by a farmer in Inje, Gangwon Province, South Korea on 13 July 2009. The elk was adopted by a female dog that breastfeeds and guards him. EPA/INJE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT / HAND EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Inje Municipal Government / Hand / YNA
GERMANY-ANIMALS-WILD-BOAR-DOG-OFFBEAT

Five weeks old young boar \"Manni\" enjoys playing with Jack Russell terrier \"Candy\" on May 10, 2009 in Ehringhausen, western Germany. \"Manni\", who was found abandoned by his sounder in the forest, is hand-feeded now. AFP PHOTO DDP/SASCHA SCHUERMANN GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP/Getty Images)
Sascha Schuermann / DDP
Image: Tiger and pig at Sriracha Tiger Zoo

epa01691316 A tiger yawns on waking as the pig stretches its trotter upon waking at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, Sriracha, near Pattaya, the host city for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus six summit, a popular beach resort in Thailand, about 160 km south east of Bangkok, Thailand, 08 April 2009. Pattaya is known as an entertainment city. Sriracha Tiger Zoo is among the largest tiger zoos in the world with on show more than 400 Bengal tigers, promoting unusual family groups called Happy Families of mixed species such as tigers, pigs and dogs, and mixed baby pigs with tiger mothers and tiger cubs with sows. Thailand hosts the ASEAN plus three and six summits including leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, with South East Asian leaders from 10 to 12 April. EPA/BARBARA WALTON
Barbara Walton / EPA
Bea, Wilma

In this photo provided by Busch Gardens, Bea, a three-year-old giraffe, and Wilma, an ostrich, share a moment Aug. 1, 2009 at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida's 65-acre Serengeti Plain. Just as they do on Africa's plains, the animals usually hang out with their own species. But recently, zoo keepers at Busch Gardens noticed the unlikely pair that just can't seem to get enough of one another. (AP Photo/Busch Gardens, Matt Marriott)
Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens
A baby hippo named Owen walks along with its 'mother', a giant male Aldabran tortoise, at the Mombasa Haller Park, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 in Mombasa, Kenya .The odd couple have stayed together now for one year after they got together after Kenya Wildlife Service rangers rescued the baby hippo in the sea off Malindi after the Asian tsumani reached the Kenyan shore and separated the calf from its mother. (AP Photo)

A baby hippo named Owen walks along with its 'mother', a giant male Aldabran tortoise, at the Mombasa Haller Park, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005 in Mombasa, Kenya .The odd couple have stayed together now for one year after they got together after Kenya Wildlife Service rangers rescued the baby hippo in the sea off Malindi after the Asian tsumani reached the Kenyan shore and separated the calf from its mother. (AP Photo)
AP
A white dog nurses two red panda cubs in the zoo in Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi province, Wednesday, July 15, 2009. The two red panda cubs, born on June 25, were abandoned by their mother at birth are thriving at a northern China zoo thanks to milk and loving care from an unlikely surrogate mother, the dog, state media reported on Thursday. (AP Photo) ** CHINA OUT **

A white dog nurses two red panda cubs in the zoo in Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi province, Wednesday, July 15, 2009. The two red panda cubs, born on June 25, were abandoned by their mother at birth are thriving at a northern China zoo thanks to milk and loving care from an unlikely surrogate mother, the dog, state media reported on Thursday. (AP Photo) ** CHINA OUT **
CHINATOPIX
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Wild boar piglet named \"Schnitzel\" (L) shares a bottle of milk with jack-russel-terrier Doro (R) and ridgeback Lilli on July 22, 2009 in Wiblingwerde, western Germany. \"Schnitzel\" was left behind when farmer Heiko Cordt tried to chase away a herd of wild boards out of a friend's garden. Cordt now raises the piglet with his five dogs. AFP PHOTO DDP/ PHILIPP GUELLAND GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read PHILIPP GUELLAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Philipp Guelland / DDP
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