Six little wild boar piglets recently brought in to an animal sancuary near Berlin have found a new friend in a maternally inclined French bulldog named Baby.

Enlarge image The maternally inclined French bulldog Baby helps Norbert Damm care for six little orphaned pigs at Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin. (© picture-alliance/dpa)

According to reports, the 8-year-old female bulldog immediately took to the striped piglets when they arrived at the Lehnitz animal sanctuary outside Berlin on February 12. They were reportedly only three day old and shivering from cold, and Baby has been right by their side ever since.

"She thinks they're her own babies," sanctuary worker Norbert Damm told the Associated Press on February 15.

Damm added that this is not the first time Baby has taken to new guests at the sanctuary - she's also raised raccoons, cats and many other animals.

"She's an über-mother," he said.

The litter of three males and three females was found abandoned in a forest. Their mother was most likely killed by a hunter.

According to Damm they weighed in at under a kilogram (two pounds) each but are now growing well while they are being bottle-fed at the sanctuary. They will eventually be set free in a nature reserve where they will be able to feed themselves.

Germany's wild boar population has been growing in recent years in Germany, nourished by commercial crops and their legendary adaptable intellect. They are reportedly intruding further into major cities such as Berlin.

As AP reported: "Recent estimates have put the boar population at more than 10,000 in Berlin alone, where they live in extensive wooded areas and often venture into backyards and sports fields, tearing up turf to look for food."