10 facts about Pigs
Did you know that pigs like to cuddle?
Pigs are fascinating animals that are – contrary to widespread belief – incredibly intelligent, social, and one of the cleanest animals! Here is a list of amazing facts about these complex creatures.
- Pigs are one of the smartest animals on the planet. Their intelligence ranks higher than dogs and even some primates!1
- In their natural state, pigs are very clean animals. They keep their toilets far from their living or feeding area.2
- They are much more tolerant to cold than heat. Pigs have no sweat glands; hence they enjoy being in the mud to keep themselves cool.3
- When trained, pigs can understand signs and sounds of humans to get a reward.4 They can also solve problems faster than dogs!5
- Pigs use their grunts to communicate. The grunts vary depending on the pig's personality and environmental context and can convey important information about the welfare of this highly social species.6,7
- Pigs have a very good memory. Not only can they remember things after a long time, but they can also prioritize important memories! 1
- Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers’ sounds, and mother pigs can communicate with them through grunts whilst suckling. Due to scientific research, it is known that piglets have a certain teat order, and every piglet has its own teat.8
- They like to get massages! Under natural conditions, they use trees for rubbing themselves.9 They also like to relax while listening to music10, and are very curious animals appreciating different enrichment toys.11
- The highest density of tactile receptors is found in the pig's snout. They have over 1110 olfactory receptors! Pigs use their snout mainly to dig in the soil and search for food.12,13 A pig's olfactory sense is about 2000 times more sensitive than a human's for certain smells.14
- Pigs are very social animals. They form close bonds with each other15 and some even like to cuddle, especially at low temperatures.16
Source
1. Marino L, Colvin CM. Thinking Pigs: A Comparative Review of Cognition, Emotion, and Personality in Sus domesticus. International Journal of Comparative Psychology. 2015;28(1). doi:10.46867/ijcp.2015.28.00.04
2. Salomon E, Åkerhielm H, Lindahl C, Lindgren K. Outdoor pig fattening at two Swedish organic farms—Spatial and temporal load of nutrients and potential environmental impact. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2007;121(4):407–418. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2006.11.017
3. Gourdine J-L, Rauw WM, Gilbert H, Poullet N. The Genetics of Thermoregulation in Pigs: A Review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2021;8:770480. doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.770480
4. Bensoussan S, Cornil M, Meunier-Salaün M-C, Tallet C. Piglets Learn to Use Combined Human-Given Visual and Auditory Signals to Find a Hidden Reward in an Object Choice Task. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(10):e0164988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164988
5. Pérez Fraga P, Gerencsér L, Lovas M, Újváry D, Andics A. Who turns to the human? Companion pigs’ and dogs’ behaviour in the unsolvable task paradigm. Animal Cognition. 2020;24:33–40. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01410-2
6. Briefer EF, Sypherd CC-R, Linhart P, Leliveld LMC, Padilla de la Torre M, Read ER, Guérin C, Deiss V, Monestier C, Rasmussen JH, et al. Classification of pig calls produced from birth to slaughter according to their emotional valence and context of production. Scientific Reports. 2022;12(1):3409. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07174-8
7. Friel M, Kunc HP, Griffin K, Asher L, Collins LM. Acoustic signalling reflects personality in a social mammal. Royal Society Open Science. 2016;3:160178. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160178
8. Newberry R, Wood-Gush D. The Suckling Behaviour of Domestic Pigs in a Semi-Natural Environment. Behaviour. 1985;95:11–25. doi:10.1163/156853985X00028
9. Rørvang MV, Schild S-LA, Wallenbeck A, Stenfelt J, Grut R, Valros A, Nielsen BL. Rub ‘n’ roll – Pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, display rubbing and rolling behaviour when exposed to odours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2023;266:106022. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106022
10. Zapata Cardona J, Ceballos MC, Tarazona Morales AM, David Jaramillo E, Rodríguez B de J. Music modulates emotional responses in growing pigs. Scientific Reports. 2022;12(1):3382. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07300-6
11. Marcet-Rius M, Pageat P, Bienboire-Frosini C, Teruel E, Monneret P, Leclercq J, Cozzi A. The provision of toys to pigs can improve the human-animal relationship. Porcine Health Management. 2020;6(1):29. doi:10.1186/s40813-020-00167-x
12. Kruska D. Mammalian Domestication and its Effect on Brain Structure and Behavior. NATO ASI Series. 1988;G17:211–250. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-70877-0_13
13. Nguyen DT, Lee K, Choi H, Choi M, Le MT, Song N, Kim J-H, Seo HG, Oh J-W, Lee K, et al. The complete swine olfactory subgenome: expansion of the olfactory gene repertoire in the pig genome. BMC Genomics. 2012;13(1):584. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-13-584
14. Jones JB, Wathes CM, Persaud KC, White RP, Jones RB. Acute and chronic exposure to ammonia and olfactory acuity for n-butanol in the pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2001;71(1):13–28. doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(00)00168-4
15. O’Malley CI, Steibel JP, Bates RO, Ernst CW, Siegford JM. The Social Life of Pigs: Changes in Affiliative and Agonistic Behaviors following Mixing. Animals. 2022;12(2):206. doi:10.3390/ani12020206
16. Hillmann E, Mayer C, Schön P-C, Puppe B, Schrader L. Vocalisation of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) as an indicator for their adaptation towards ambient temperatures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2004;89(3):195–206. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2004.06.008
2. Salomon E, Åkerhielm H, Lindahl C, Lindgren K. Outdoor pig fattening at two Swedish organic farms—Spatial and temporal load of nutrients and potential environmental impact. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2007;121(4):407–418. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2006.11.017
3. Gourdine J-L, Rauw WM, Gilbert H, Poullet N. The Genetics of Thermoregulation in Pigs: A Review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2021;8:770480. doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.770480
4. Bensoussan S, Cornil M, Meunier-Salaün M-C, Tallet C. Piglets Learn to Use Combined Human-Given Visual and Auditory Signals to Find a Hidden Reward in an Object Choice Task. PLoS ONE. 2016;11(10):e0164988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164988
5. Pérez Fraga P, Gerencsér L, Lovas M, Újváry D, Andics A. Who turns to the human? Companion pigs’ and dogs’ behaviour in the unsolvable task paradigm. Animal Cognition. 2020;24:33–40. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01410-2
6. Briefer EF, Sypherd CC-R, Linhart P, Leliveld LMC, Padilla de la Torre M, Read ER, Guérin C, Deiss V, Monestier C, Rasmussen JH, et al. Classification of pig calls produced from birth to slaughter according to their emotional valence and context of production. Scientific Reports. 2022;12(1):3409. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07174-8
7. Friel M, Kunc HP, Griffin K, Asher L, Collins LM. Acoustic signalling reflects personality in a social mammal. Royal Society Open Science. 2016;3:160178. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160178
8. Newberry R, Wood-Gush D. The Suckling Behaviour of Domestic Pigs in a Semi-Natural Environment. Behaviour. 1985;95:11–25. doi:10.1163/156853985X00028
9. Rørvang MV, Schild S-LA, Wallenbeck A, Stenfelt J, Grut R, Valros A, Nielsen BL. Rub ‘n’ roll – Pigs, Sus scrofa domesticus, display rubbing and rolling behaviour when exposed to odours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2023;266:106022. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106022
10. Zapata Cardona J, Ceballos MC, Tarazona Morales AM, David Jaramillo E, Rodríguez B de J. Music modulates emotional responses in growing pigs. Scientific Reports. 2022;12(1):3382. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-07300-6
11. Marcet-Rius M, Pageat P, Bienboire-Frosini C, Teruel E, Monneret P, Leclercq J, Cozzi A. The provision of toys to pigs can improve the human-animal relationship. Porcine Health Management. 2020;6(1):29. doi:10.1186/s40813-020-00167-x
12. Kruska D. Mammalian Domestication and its Effect on Brain Structure and Behavior. NATO ASI Series. 1988;G17:211–250. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-70877-0_13
13. Nguyen DT, Lee K, Choi H, Choi M, Le MT, Song N, Kim J-H, Seo HG, Oh J-W, Lee K, et al. The complete swine olfactory subgenome: expansion of the olfactory gene repertoire in the pig genome. BMC Genomics. 2012;13(1):584. doi:10.1186/1471-2164-13-584
14. Jones JB, Wathes CM, Persaud KC, White RP, Jones RB. Acute and chronic exposure to ammonia and olfactory acuity for n-butanol in the pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2001;71(1):13–28. doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(00)00168-4
15. O’Malley CI, Steibel JP, Bates RO, Ernst CW, Siegford JM. The Social Life of Pigs: Changes in Affiliative and Agonistic Behaviors following Mixing. Animals. 2022;12(2):206. doi:10.3390/ani12020206
16. Hillmann E, Mayer C, Schön P-C, Puppe B, Schrader L. Vocalisation of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) as an indicator for their adaptation towards ambient temperatures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2004;89(3):195–206. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2004.06.008