Can a Wild Boar Piglet Learn to Bark?

May 13, 2009 — -- A family in Germany has adopted a baby wild boar who was found abandoned and starving. Manni the piglet has now made friends with the family's Jack Russell terrier -- and is even learning to bark.

Who says you can't teach a young pig new tricks -- or even how to bark?

Manni, a wild boar piglet, was found abandoned and starving in a field near Ehringhausen in rural southwestern Germany. The lucky pig was adopted by the Dahlhaus family, who bottle-fed him back to health.

"When Manni was found he was very skinny," Wilhelm Karl Dahlhaus, a fireman by profession, told the mass circulation daily Bild. "But he's coming along nicely now."

The family also introduced the perky porker to their Jack Russell terrier Candy. It turned out to be a match made in hog heaven. According to Dahlhaus, "the pair play together every day. They play hide and seek, romp around in the hedges and bushes and just have a lot of fun together." Apparently Manni, who is now five weeks old, is even figuring out how to communicate with Candy -- he's learning to bark.

Animal lovers need not fear about Manni's long-term future. Although Dahlhaus is an amateur hunter, Manni isn't destined for anyone's dinner plate: This little pig will either stay with the Dahlhaus family or end up living happily ever after in a wildlife park.