Do you know that pigs are the most eaten farm animal on earth? Their noses are also used to find expensive mushrooms called “truffle”?
Pigs are one of the first animals we learn in school at a very young age. Apart from their names and a few unusual phrases, most people don’t know much about this cute and smart animal.
In this article, we will talk about cool facts about pigs, don’t worry, we will not debate if pigs are the smartest farm animal. Instead, we will dive deeper into cool things about pigs. I also have a video about pigs if you prefer a visual presentation.
In this video titled, pig facts, we will discuss 10 cool facts about pigs, are they really smart? What does pigsty and piggy bank mean? Watch my latest video and learn with me.
10 COOL FACTS ABOUT PIGS
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1. Noise and Pigs of War
Pigs can squeal up to 115 decibels, making them louder than a jackhammer or the thunder from a nearby lightning strike. Pigs also use 20 unique sounds to communicate with each other. They combine different tones of grunts and squeals to accomplish this.
Alexander the Great used domesticated pigs in his war against India in 326 BC. The Indian army was led by armored elephants as cavalry. When the Battle of the Hydaspes River looked to be a loss for Alexander, he unleashed over 1000 pigs on the elephants.
The loud squeals frightened the elephants, and they ran away from the battle, handing this legendary military commander yet another victory.
2. “Sweating Like a Pig”
Pigs actually hardly sweat at all, and that is why they roll around in the mud. The mud helps keep them cool and protects against sunburn. Mud also prevents insect bites.
This English expression, “sweating like a pig” actually comes from the word “pig iron,” which is made by smelting iron ore. Blacksmiths know when the iron has cooled enough to handle because it collects dew on the outside. Just like a cold drinking glass does on a humid day. Sweating like a pig is an expression that makes sense.
The expression “your room is a pigsty,” on the other hand does not make sense. Wild pigs are actually quite clean and well organized. They have separate eating, living, sleeping, and toilet areas. The “pigsty” referred to in that phrase only exists if pigs are kept in too small of quarters, like a farm setting.
3. Runts and Teeth
Piglet litter size usually ranges from 8 to 16, and the mother generally has fewer well-functioning teats than she does babies. Therefore, piglets have to fight over the best milk-producing teats. Piglets are born with teeth, and they will bite each other.
The bigger, stronger, and more dominant babies will claim the best positions, and this leaves the weaker piglets unable to feed as much. They grow slower and become even weaker every day. These weak piglets are called runts and they often die off.
Meat farmers may even kill the runts because they take too long to grow, and continued fighting over milk causes a lot of pain and presents an infection risk to the mother.
Breeds of pigs that produce smaller litters can be used to mitigate this problem in combination with teeth clipping to reduce overall suffering.
4. Domesticated in 8500 BC
According to genetic analysis, pigs have first domesticated over 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. They were brought to Europe about 5,000 years ago.
Pigs were one of the first animals to be artificially bred for domestication. 10,000 years ago seems like a long time, but dogs were domesticated 4x earlier, about 40,000 years ago!
The first piggy banks were discovered in Indonesia about 600 years ago, but they were just simple pots made of orange clay called “pygg.” They were used to store change. After the “pygg pots” were introduced to Europe, as a play on words, the pots were shaped into pigs and the “piggy bank” was invented sometime in 19th century England.
5. Great swimmers
Pigs are very strong swimmers. “Pig Beach” is located on an uninhabited island of the Bahamas, called “Major Cay”. It is a famous tourist attraction where you can see the feral pigs hanging out on the beach and body surfing.
Pigs have been seen blowing bubbles when they are bored. There are several accounts of domesticated pigs rescuing humans from drowning; acting as fat, floating lifeguards.
6. Pigs can Play Basic Video Games
I can’t resist but talk about how smart pigs are, this is one of the cool facts about pigs. There is a study showing that pigs are the 2nd best animal behind humans at playing a certain very simple video game.
They are given food as a reward. In this game, the pig can push a joystick with its snout to move a ball into the goal on screen.
This game was designed to be played by chimps, but pigs demonstrated better focus. There are claims that pigs are more intelligent than dogs, chimps, and dolphins, but these claims are not yet backed by enough research.
However, pigs are estimated to be about as intelligent as a 3-year-old human. Pigs can use mirrors to find food and demonstrate a limited amount of self-recognition.
Winston Churchhill is quoted saying: “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, pigs treat us as equals.”
7. Big Snouts and Mushrooms
The pig is well known for its cute, big schnoz. They are better at sniffing for explosives than dogs and can smell food buried 3 feet underground. Their nose is about 2,000x more sensitive than a human nose, and they have evolved this strong sense of smell to find food. Their snout is flexible and can fit down holes and smell things under the mud.
The truffle mushroom sells for 4000 dollars per pound, and in Europe, farmers use their female pigs to find this delicacy. Females are able to find these mushrooms because they have the exact same smell as the male pig sex pheromone.
The truffle mushroom strategically mimics this smell so it can be eaten on purpose and its spores are spread around in the pig’s feces. Truffles are one of the most expensive foods in the world.
8. The Most Eaten Animal
By weight, 40% of all livestock meat eaten by humans is pork. It is followed by 33% chicken and 20% beef. Pigs can gain an astonishing 3 pounds per day. A 5-month-old pig is fully grown at an average weight of 250 pounds, and their average life span is about 15 years.
The worldwide domestic pig population is estimated to be over 677 million, with more than half located in China. Pig hooves are used to make gelatin, and their hair is used for paintbrushes. Pigs are also being exploited by researchers for their organs.
Scientists hope to use pig pancreases and hearts in humans to cure cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
9. Folklore and Mythology
When the Chinese Jade Emperor called a meeting of the 12 animals to fill out the Zodiac calendar, the pig lost the race. It took 12th place because it was fat, got hungry, ate, and fell asleep.
In the bible and Quran, pigs are deemed to be “unclean.” This is probably because they are omnivores and have been observed eating rotten food. Jewish Kosher and Muslim Halal diets exclude all pork.
10. Diversity and Range
This article and our video focused on domestic pigs, but overall, there are 16 species of pigs today. These are further broken down into over 200 different breeds. Pigs are found on 6 continents and have all sorts of different looks and sizes. Here are the three most popular pig species:
The wild boar is native to northern Africa and Eurasia. It is quite aggressive and can charge using its large tusks. It is very strong and can even defend against lions. It weighs about 200 pounds.
The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig is only about 100 pounds, has a fat tummy, short legs, grows slowly, and is endangered due to inbreeding.
One of the largest pigs on record was named “Hog-Zilla.” It weighed over 1,000 pounds and was a hybrid between a wild hog and a domestic pig. It was shot to death in 2004 in the state of Georgia, USA.
FINAL DISCUSSION
Pigs are useful in war because of their loud squeals, pigs can play video games, and the pig nose is excellent at finding truffle mushrooms! I had fun researching all of these cool facts about pigs.
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