Pigs and interesting facts about them (16 photos + 1 video)

14 February 2018

Probably the pig is the most stereotypical animal. It is associated with dirt and stench, but this is far from the case. Let's take a closer look at these grunting creatures.

As usual, a little biology.

Pigs (lat. Suidae) are a family of non-ruminant artiodactyla (Artiodactyla), which includes 22 genera of pigs, of which 5 are modern, including the only European representative - the wild boar, which is the ancestor of the domestic pig. A baby pig is called a piglet. Domestic pig? (lat. Sus scrofa domesticus) is a large artiodactyl, a subspecies of wild boar, domesticated by humans about 7 thousand years ago (according to some studies - much earlier) and distributed mainly in Western countries, East Asia and Oceania. Feral pigs (razorbacks) are found in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The body length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 m, an adult weighs from 50 to 150 kg. Compared to other artiodactyls, which are more often herbivorous, the domestic pig is omnivorous, like its ancestor, the wild boar.

Pigs are characterized by a compact build and a long muzzle, ending in a bare cartilaginous movable “patch” - this is a device for loosening the earth in search of food. The canines are well developed, sharp, curved upward. The limbs are four-fingered; the lateral toes (second and fourth) barely touch the ground. Like all artiodactyls, the fingers end in hooves. The hairline is sparse, consisting mainly of stubble. The stomach is simple. The natural range of pigs covers Eurasia and Africa, but thanks to humans, domestic pigs are present on all continents except Antarctica and have formed partly feral populations everywhere. Most pig species live in forests.

Pigs are raised primarily for their meat. World pork production in 2005 was 97.2 million tons. Decorative dwarf breeds of pigs (mini pigs) are popular animals for keeping at home. In France, specially trained pigs search for truffles.

Domestication

Archaeological finds indicate that already 12,700 - 13,000 years ago, wild pigs began to be domesticated in the Middle East in the Tigris basin regions. Initially, they were kept in a semi-wild state in the wild, just as pigs are kept today in New Guinea. The remains of pigs dating back to more than 11,400 years ago have been found in Cyprus. Pigs could only get to the island from the mainland, which suggests movement with humans and domestication. Independently of this, pig domestication occurred in China, which took place about 8,000 years ago.

A study of DNA from pig teeth and bones found in Neolithic European settlements suggests that the first domestic pigs were brought to Europe from the Middle East. This stimulated the domestication of European wild pigs, which led in a short time to the third important moment in the history of domestication - the displacement of breeds of Middle Eastern origin in Europe.

The high adaptability and omnivorous nature of wild pigs allowed primitive man to domesticate them very quickly. Pigs were raised primarily for their meat, but their skins, bones, and bristles were also used to make tools and weapons. In India, domestic pigs were bred for a long period mainly in Goa.

Pigs were brought to North America from Europe by Hernando de Soto and other Spanish pioneers. The escaped pigs led a wild lifestyle and caused great damage to the economy of the indigenous population. Feral domestic pigs have appeared in many parts of the world and caused great harm to the environment. They become an environmental threat and damage agricultural crops (they are among the hundred most harmful animals). This is especially true in South America from Uruguay to the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Sao Paulo, where they are called javaporcos.

With a standing population of approximately one billion individuals, domestic pigs are one of the most numerous large mammals on the planet.

Interesting Facts:

- Pigs constantly communicate with each other. Scientists have differentiated more than twenty different sounds that pigs make. Moreover, these sounds have very different meanings, ranging from flirting with the opposite sex and requests for help, ending with a signal of the desire to eat.

- Pigs are able to communicate with each other, emphasizing what is “said” with intonation.

- Pigs can't look up.

- A pig is able to experience an orgasm that lasts for as long as 30 minutes.

- There are pig fishermen in the world who are able to catch fish at a depth of up to 15 meters.

- Insulin is produced from the extract of the pig pancreas.

- Pigs treat others the same way they treat them. They will treat a good and affectionate owner with devotion, and in case of rudeness they are always able to stand up for themselves.

- A pig's squeal can reach a volume of 115 decibels. This is 3 decibels higher than the sound of a supersonic airliner.

- A pig can drink 14 liters of water per day.

- Pigs are social animals who know how to make friends and who try to stay close to “like-minded people.”

- In many countries, pigs are used at customs to search for drugs, since their sense of smell is much better developed than that of dogs.

- The pig's favorite treat is pumpkin.

- In some countries, pigs are trained for hunting or rescue operations, as they can sense a person even under a thick layer of snow.

- If a pig gets stuck somewhere and cannot get out, then it begins to become hysterical, from which it can even die.

- The pig heart valve is suitable for humans and is used in transplantation.

- Pigs love music very much and are true music lovers, and they can sing along in their own way.

- Pigs love to swim and swim with great pleasure. However, they do not know how to swim from birth.

- Pigs are one of the most inquisitive animals, which is why they often find themselves in unpleasant situations.

- Newborn piglets are capable of gaining up to 100 kg of weight in six months.

- Pigs see very poorly, but hear perfectly and have a high sense of smell.

- Piglets become very attached to their owner, who takes care of them.

- Pigs live on average about 15 years.

- Some adult pigs can weigh more than a cow.

- Pigs have a well-developed sense of time.

- Piglets suffer from the same diseases as small children. Diseases of adult pigs are similar to diseases of humans and are treated with the same drugs, in almost the same doses.

- Pigs are almost not prone to aggression. But if you make a pig angry, then you won’t find a more terrible beast. In a fit of rage, an ordinary farm pig is capable of attacking a cow and defeating it.

- After two weeks, suckling piglets run to their mother’s voice and can respond to names. It is known that sows seem to “sing along” with their cubs during feeding, making a kind of grunting noise when the babies suckle.

- In a number of tests for mental abilities, where the capabilities of animals in solving various problems were analyzed, pigs demonstrate high results in both intelligence and observation.

- If you think that pigs are slow and clumsy, you are deeply mistaken. Adult pigs can reach speeds of over 17 kilometers per hour.

- The record for the largest farrowing belongs to a Danish pig, who in 1961 became the mother of 34 piglets at once.

- In heraldry, the Boar, a wild boar, is an emblem of courage and fearlessness, almost always depicted in black and in profile.

- The Erymanthian boar - in ancient Greek mythology, a huge boar that lived on Mount Erymanthes and devastated the surroundings of the city of Psofida in Arcadia on Mount Lampea. The Mycenaean king Eurystheus ordered Hercules to defeat the Erymanthian boar. Hercules chased him, driving him into deep snow, tied him up and brought him to Mycenae. The image of hunting was in Olympia among all 12 labors.

- In the Scandinavian sagas there are three mythical boars: Hildisvini is a boar ridden by the goddess Freya when she is not using her cat-drawn chariot. Sehrimnir is a boar that is cooked every day in his cauldron Eldhrimnir by the Einherjar cook Andhrimnir to serve to the Einherjar table. However, by evening Sehrimnir comes to life whole again. And Gullinbursti is a very fast-moving boar, created during a dispute between the dwarves - the brothers Brok and Sindri and the god of cunning and deceit Loki. Belongs to Freyr (alternatives can talk about an alien genetic experiment).

- Research has also shown that, like humans, they dream

- In 2012, a completely terrible incident occurred in the USA. In Oregon, a farmer was eaten by pigs after he fell into his pen due to a heart attack. By the time a relative, concerned about the owner’s long absence, arrived at the farm, all that was left of the poor man was his dentures.

- June 17, 2004 in Alapahoe, Georgia by Chris Griffin, near Ken Holyoke's fish farm, a giant pig, a hog, a cross between a wild boar and a domestic pig was discovered. The animal reached a length of 3.7 m and a weight of 450 kg. Initially, reports of this animal were not taken seriously. In 2005, the hog carcass was studied by scientists Oz Katz and Roy Lerner. A DNA test showed that this animal is a cross between a wild boar and a domestic Hampshire pig. The size of the animal is extraordinary in comparison with wild boars living in the wild, it was called Hogzilla (Hryakzilla). Hogzilla's fangs turned out to be 71 and 48 cm long. In 2005, the National Geographic Channel made a film about this animal. In 2007, the film The Legend of Hogzilla was filmed.

- Pig farming was practically unknown to the ancient nomads. And all because in the arid steppe conditions the animals had nothing to feed themselves. Pigs do not tolerate too hot climates well, because only one part of the surface of their body is responsible for sweating - the snout.

- In the archives of the French city of Melun there is a report on the costs of executing a pig: “Feeding a pig in prison: 6 Parisian groschen. Next - to the executioner... to carry out the sentence: 54 Parisian groschen. Next is the fee for the cart on which the pig was delivered to the scaffold: 6 Parisian groschen. Next is the payment for the rope on which the pig was hanged: 2 Parisian groschen and 8 denarii. Next, for the gloves: 2 Parisian denarii.” Interestingly, exactly the same amount was allocated for keeping a pig in prison as for a person.

- And in 1457, a death sentence was passed on a pig in Burgundy. A judge in the city of Savigny considered a case involving a pig and 6 piglets in the murder of a five-year-old boy, Jean Martin. The pig was found guilty. The criminal was executed by hanging by her hind legs. The little pigs were acquitted, but confiscated in favor of the court.

- Experiments conducted by scientists have proven that pigs do not perceive their reflection in the mirror as identical to their own “I”. But they readily see other objects there and unmistakably identify them.

- The consonance of two English words is to blame for the fact that traditional piggy banks are made in the shape of a pig. The clay from which the first such products were once made was called “pygg”. The pronunciation of this word was exactly the same as “pig”. And over time, piggy bank manufacturers began to make them in the shape of pigs.

- There are 44 teeth in the boar’s mouth, while in adult males the fangs, triangular in cross-section, protrude from both sides of the snout. They can reach a length of 22 cm. Sometimes the fangs bend and deviate to the sides. This is a device for digging out the roots of plants and soil insects from the soil, but animals also use it for defense purposes, inflicting fatal blows to the enemy from the bottom up.

- Wild boars are unusually tenacious. In Belarus, a three-year-old normally well-fed boar was caught, in whose lungs they found an already overgrown spruce branch 24 cm long and 3 cm thick.

- On the African continent there are other relatives of pigs, which are also classified as wild boars - warthogs. They are distinguished by fangs that are significant for their growth and have extraordinary sharpness. By the way, the character Pumbaa from the well-known cartoon “The Lion King” is just a warthog.

- If you've ever thought that someone "sweats like a pig", you're wrong. Pigs do not have sweat glands, but only their snouts, so they try to find coolness in the mud. In addition, dirt protects them from parasites as well as sunburn. Moreover, wild boars specially arrange “baths” not far from their roosting area.

- Castrated pigs are called hogs. And they do this so that he gains more weight.

- Pigs are very clean. Usually their toilet area is far from where they lie and eat. Even newborn piglets will leave their den to go to the toilet within a few hours of birth.

- In China, the pig is a symbol of fertility and masculinity. This has led to pig figurines often featuring prominently in the bedrooms of Chinese couples who want to have children.

- The pig's brain is relatively small, making up only about 0.05 percent of its body weight (about 2 percent in humans), and the pig's "intelligence" is quite high compared to other animals, as noted by many scientists who have studied pigs. Here is how the English naturalist Kent Britt speaks of the pig: “If a dog is obedient, a cat is hypocritical, a monkey is treacherous, then pigish behavior comes from understanding the situation: it responds to kindness and affection with devotion.”

- The history of pig domestication by the Papuans is truly fantastic. We know about this from the memoirs of Miklouho-Maclay. Having tamed a pig caught during a hunt, the Papuans looked after it, fed it, became attached to it and even considered it a member of their family. When the pig grew up, it was necessarily slaughtered for meat, timing this event to coincide with a religious ceremony. True, such spiritual closeness to animals complicated the procedure for slaughtering them. Neither the owner nor his family members had the right to kill a pig or even eat its meat. This was explained by the fact that no one dares to eat the meat of a family member, such as a son or brother. The Papuans found a way out of such a seemingly difficult situation - they killed their neighbors' pigs and then ate their meat with a clear conscience. And women of some Papuan tribes even breastfed piglets.

- There is a whole pig island in the world called “Sau”, which was discovered not so long ago - in 2009. It is located in the Bahamas. The island has many sources of fresh water, and its favorable location prevents it from suffering from tropical storms. All these conditions are ideal for idle pigs, who, like travelers, wander along the shores of the beach all day long.

- Managalitsa is a semi-wild Hungarian breed of pig. Due to industrial production in the eighties of the last century, it practically disappeared, but thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts, the breed was preserved. Raising such a furry pig is much more difficult than an ordinary pig. She is a picky eater and is gaining weight slowly.

- The most expensive pig was sold in 1985 in the USA for $56,000.

- In the Kingdom of Bhutan, marijuana grows everywhere, but for a very long time it was used only as feed for pigs. It was only after 1999, when the country's television ban was lifted, that Bhutanese learned that it could be used as a drug.

- The main pig in Orwell’s dystopia “Animal Farm” is called Napoleon. But in the first edition of the story in France, this pig bore a different name - Caesar. In subsequent translations, her original name was returned.

- In Afghanistan, a Muslim country of more than 30 million people, there is only one pig. Her name is Hanzir, and she is in the Kabul Zoo. Despite the animal’s isolation, in 2009, during the global swine flu pandemic, Hanzir was quarantined.

- According to several ancient authors, fighting pigs were repeatedly successfully used against war elephants, sometimes specially coated with a flammable substance and set on fire. The pig's squeal terrified the elephants, after which they could take flight, trampling soldiers from their own army.

- The relics of St. Mark were stolen by Venetian merchants from Alexandria in a large basket covered with pork carcasses on top. Muslims, even during customs inspection, could not touch them.

- In 2006, Taiwanese scientists bred green glowing piglets. To do this, the gene for a green fluorescent protein, borrowed from a fluorescent jellyfish, was introduced into the DNA chain of the embryo. Not only the skin of the pigs glows, but also all the internal organs. The main goal of such an experiment is the possibility of visual observation of tissue development during stem cell transplantation.

- In the Canadian city of Sainte-Perpetue, Quebec, a traditional pig festival is taking place. In one of the competitions, “athletes” are given the task of catching a pig in the mud with their bare hands.