Animal of the Month

1. Pigs are mammals. Adult male pigs are known as "boars", and adult female pigs are called "sows". Pigs can live to be 6 to 10 years old. However, most pigs are killed for food when they are less than 1 year old.
2. Pigs learn their names by 2 to 3 weeks of age and respond when called, just like dogs and cats often do.
3. European domestic pigs are descended from European wild boars, who can still be found in the wild.
4. Pigs were first domesticated 9,000 years ago in many different parts of the world. People have used pigs primarily for food.
5. Because pigs are unable to sweat, they need shelter to protect themselves from the elements, but they also need to be able to explore outside. They like to cool off in the mud as well, because mud protects them from sunburn and insects.
6. Pigs are highly intelligent and sensitive animals. They are more intelligent than dogs and even 3-year-old humans! One scientist taught pigs to play a video game and discovered that they were better at it than some primates were. Pigs also have long memories and can recall things they learned three years earlier.
7. The majority of pigs raised for food in the UK are kept in intensive conditions. This means that they are kept in crowded concrete and metal pens with little room to move and without bedding.
8. It's all in the nose with pigs! They have an excellent sense of smell and traditionally have been used to find truffles. Their snouts are very sensitive, and they use them to explore the ground and dig for roots. It has been reported that pigs can smell a human half a mile away.
9. On farms, piglets are removed from their mothers when they are only 3 weeks old. In nature, piglets would be weaned when they are 3 months old.
10. Pigs are natural explorers. In the wild, pigs travel up to 15 kilometres per night and spend over a quarter of their time exploring.