TIGER BRINGS HOME THE BACON

Tigers and piglets might seem unlikely bedfellows, but these amazing scenes at a Thai zoo prove how the animals can happily live together.

Tiger cubs at Sriracha Zoo in eastern Thailand's Chonburi Province are routinely brought up on pig's milk - with astonishing results.

The young wildcats happily suckle on the mother pigs, and the tigers are said to grow at a much faster rate than cubs raised on tiger milk alone.

The method also has a calming effect on the normally aggressive animals - and there's another surprising side-effect.

After suckling from pigs as cubs, adult tigers remain at ease with the farm animals throughout their lives - with one fully-grown female even treating piglets as her own.

Staff at the zoo had to tell a few porkies to convince her, though - and wrapping the piglets in tiger-style coats did the trick.