fwd: The Secret Lives of Pigs

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The Secret Lives of Pigs

 

 

" No man should be allowed to be President who does not understand

hogs. " ~President Harry Truman

 

Most people know very little about these fascinating animals. In

fact, pigs are curious and insightful animals thought to have

intelligence beyond that of an average 3-year-old human child. They

are smarter than dogs and every bit as friendly, loyal, and

affectionate. When in their natural surroundings they are social,

playful, protective animals who bond with each other, make beds,

relax in the sun, and cool off in the mud.

 

Since most people are not that familiar with pigs, you may be

surprised to learn that they dream, recognize their names, play video

games more effectively than some primates, and lead social lives of a

complexity previously observed only in primates.

 

People who run animal sanctuaries often describe pigs with human

characteristics, because they've learned that, like humans, pigs

enjoy listening to music, playing with soccer balls, and getting

massages.

 

What the Experts Say

 

Professor Stanley Curtis of Penn State University found that pigs

play and excel at joystick-controlled video games. He observed that

they are " capable of abstract representation " and " are able to hold

an icon in the mind and remember it at a later date. " Professor

Curtis says that " there is much more going on in terms of thinking

and observing by these pigs than we would ever have guessed. " Pigs

are much smarter than dogs, according to the research, and even did

better at video games than some primates. Says Dr. Sarah Boysen,

Curtis' colleague, " [Pigs] are able to focus with an intensity I have

never seen in a chimp. "

 

Pigs form complex social units and learn from one another in ways

previously observed exclusively among primates. For example, pigs use

clever ploys to try to outsmart each other. Pigs often learn how to

follow others to food before snatching it away. Those who are tricked

learn to change their behavior in order to reduce the number of times

they are deceived. And Dr. Mike Mendyl notes that pigs can signal

their competitive strength and " use this information to minimize

overt aggression during disputes about social ranks, " just like many

primates (including humans). He explains that " pigs can develop quite

sophisticated social competitive behavior, similar to that seen in

some primate species. "

 

 

 

Pigs communicate constantly with one another. More than 20 of their

oinks, grunts, and squeals have been identified for different

situations, from wooing their mates to expressing, " I'm hungry! "

 

Pigs have a very long memory. Dr. Curtis put a ball, a Frisbee, and a

dumbbell in front of several pigs and was able to teach them to jump

over, sit next to, or fetch any of the objects when asked to and they

could distinguish between the objects three years later.

 

Scientists at the University of Illinois have learned that not only

do pigs have temperature preferences, they also will learn through

trial and error how to turn on the heat in a cold barn if given the

chance and turn it off again when they are too warm.

 

Professor Donald Broom of Cambridge University Veterinary School

says, " [Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated.

Even more so than dogs and certainly three-year-olds. "

 

Suzanne Held, who studies the cognitive abilities of farm animals at

the University of Bristol's Centre of Behavioural Biology, says that

pigs are " really good at remembering where food is located, because

in their natural environment food is patchily distributed and it pays

to revisit profitable food patches. "

 

Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers' voices, and mother

pigs sing to their young while nursing.

 

Pigs are actually very clean animals. If given sufficient space, pigs

will be careful not to excrete near where they sleep or eat. Pigs

don't " sweat like pigs " ; they are actually unable to sweat. Pigs like

to bathe in water or mud to keep cool.

 

Pig Prowess

 

Like dogs, piglets learn their names by 2 to 3 weeks of age and

respond when called.

 

Pigs prefer water to mud. One woman developed a shower for her pigs,

and these astute animals learned to turn it on and off.

 

Pigs appear to have a good sense of direction and have found their

way home over great distances. Adults can run at speeds of up to 11

miles an hour.

 

Pigs have shown gentleness and forgiveness. Norwegian author Bergljot

Borresen writes about a mountain farmer who mistreated his pig. The

pig locked her jaws into his thigh but didn't bite down. The farmer

believed it was a warning not to treat her unkindly again. In her own

way, she gave him another chance.

 

Author John Robbins notes that " unlike dogs, horses and humans, they

will never dangerously overeat even when given access to unlimited

food. " The pork industry, however, has wreaked havoc on this

healthful habit with a drug called Hog-Crave, which causes pigs to

overeat so that they will grow faster and will thus be more

profitable to those who kill them.

 

Pigs have been known to save the lives of others, including their

human friends.

 

According to The Daily Telegraph, " a pet piglet called Pru was

praised by her owner Š after dragging her free from a muddy bog. " The

owner said, " I was panicking when I was stuck in the bog. I did not

know what to do and I think Pru sensed that. Š I had a rope with me

that I use as a dog lead and I put it around her. I was shouting `Go

home, go home' and she walked forward, slowly pulling me out of the

mud. "

 

Like dogs, pigs have done many heroic deeds. Babe's real-life

counterparts have rescued human and nonhuman companions, stopped

intruders in their tracks, and even saved themselves from

slaughterhouses. In addition to the previously mentioned piglet Pru,

who dragged her human companion from a muddy bog, there is also

Priscilla, who saved a young boy from drowning; Spammy, who led

firefighters to a burning shed to save her calf friend Spot; and

Lulu, who found help for her human companion who had collapsed from a

heart attack. A pig named Tunia chased away an intruder, and another

named Mona held a fleeing suspect's leg until the police arrived.

 

A pig in New Jersey jumped off a truck en route to the

slaughterhouse, while in England, a stone carving of a pig named

Butch was placed upon a historic cathedral after Butch and his friend

Sundance escaped from a slaughterhouse and roamed the country for

several days before being captured. Fortunately, a national outcry

against slaughter allowed Butch and Sundance to go to a sanctuary.

 

(Compiled from Internet sources)

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