Did you know that pigs can play video games, smell things 5-7 miles away, recognize human faces,
and solve multiple-choice questions?
Pigs often get mischaracterized as smelly, filthy, and gluttonous.
(Unless they're in a tutu on Instagram.)
Or this...
We use terms like "chauvinist pig," call a messy room a "pigsty,"
and say "I'm sweating like a pig" when pigs can't even sweat!
Get ready to puncture your porcine preconceptions with ten surprising facts about pigs.
Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, where you can find free resources, eCourses,
kids' content, and a Guided Search to help you find just what you need, even if you don't know what to ask!
And where you'll find all the sources for this video and even more about pigs!
Let’s start our pig fact foray with something serious: Pigs sliding down a mountain just for fun
As researchers at WellBeing International put it, pigs take their play seriously.
Pigs play in many of the same ways dogs do.
They wrestle, play fight, jump, and chase.
They do that bananas-excited zooming around that anyone with a dog is more than accustomed to.
They play with toys, with water, with each other.
They're even inventive with play, like figuring out how to mudslide down a mountain
just for the sheer joy of it!
But it's not just fun and games—play is essential to the development of all animals,
humans included.
Pigs raised with the opportunity to play are more cognitively and socially developed than
those confined for animal agriculture.
Now pigs aren’t just impressive with their play—they’re also crazy smart!
Pigs are often ranked as one of the most intelligent species, possessing cognitive abilities shared
with dolphins, chimpanzees, elephants, and even humans.
While pigs have long demonstrated their complex cognition, every time a new study emerges,
we seem surprised all over again by their intelligence.
All the way from a study in 1915 showing pigs could solve multiple-choice problems, to the
headline-grabbing discovery that they can play video games, pigs continue to astound us.
In addition to learning video game play as quickly as chimpanzees, pigs can use mirrors
to find hidden objects, understand the passage of time, anticipate future events.
Remarkably, they are able to assume what other pigs can or can't see, and what knowledge
other pigs possess—an indication of a high level cognitive capacity called "visual perspective taking."
For example, pigs understand when another pig is "in the know" about a secret food site
and will follow them to get a treat.
In turn, the pigs "in the know" will practice "tactical deception" by avoiding the hidden
food while other pigs are around.
Their ability to use mirrors is a sign of sophisticated cognitive processing and an indication of self-awareness
once thought to be limited to humans, other primates, elephants,
dolphins, magpies, and African Grey parrots.
Pigs have even been observed using tools, an ability which scientists believe may have
been passed down from a mother to her offspring and mate, who were also seen using tools.
Pigs can recognize human faces, know when humans are ignoring them, and understand non-verbal
cues and symbolic language.
Which brings us to fact #3: pigs have their own language.
Pigs have their own vocal language of oinks, squeals, screams, and grunts.
Research has found that "[t]he sounds they make convey a wide range of information such
as [their] emotional, motivational and physiological state[s]."
There are around 20 distinct sounds in pigs' vocal communication that we humans have recognized thus far.
They make short grunts when excited, squeal when afraid, and scream when they're hurt.
Male pigs sing courting songs to females, and mother pigs can recognize their piglets by sound alone.
The sounds pigs make vary with their personalities—which brings us to fact #4: pigs have personalities!
Anyone who's known a pig won't actually be surprised to hear they have personalities.
Pigs have individual likes and dislikes, just like we do.
Some pigs are more outgoing, while others are more shy.
Some pigs are eager to explore their surroundings, while others prefer to hang around familiar places
While it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see personality in pigs, studies have shown
they have distinct personalities.
When interviewed for one study, even farmers raising pigs for slaughter described the pigs'
various personality traits.
But to really see porcine personality in all its glory, visit a farmed animal sanctuary
where pigs are free to live their best lives!
Pigs outside of animal agriculture also get to socialize like the master minglers they are,
which brings us to fact #5: pigs are super social and make friends with other animals.
Pigs are very social animals and form tight bonds.
Like dogs, pigs run up to greet friends of any species with wagging tails and happy noises.
The complexity of their social structure and awareness of other individuals is similar
to other highly intelligent animals.
Pigs can differentiate between members of their own species as early as six weeks old
and—as we've already learned—can also tell the difference between humans.
Pigs prefer familiar friends over strangers, and extend their social circles to other species.
But don't get on a pig's bad side because they will remember...which brings us to fact
#6: Pigs have great memories!
Even newborn piglets have good short and long-term memories
—with some scientists going as far as saying astonishingly good.
Pigs also exhibit what's called episodic memory, a type of long-term memory specific to one's
personal experiences throughout one's life.
Our episodic memory is what gives us a sense of self through time.
It's our autobiographical memory—our personal history, rather than facts and figures we've memorized.
Studies have shown pigs understand the passage of time, remember specific events, and can
anticipate future events—all of which indicate they may possess "a sense of self through time"
and are capable of "planning for the future."
Which brings us to a fact that everyone should remember (okay, not my best transition):
Despite all the stereotypes, pigs are very clean!
Perhaps the most persistent misconception about pigs is that they're dirty.
This impression is mainly due to their practice of wallowing in mud to cool down.
As I mentioned, pigs can't sweat.
So they have to use mud or water to regulate their body temperature.
In reality, pigs are one the cleanest animals.
When given the choice, pigs never "go to the bathroom" where they live.
Even piglets as young as six days old make sure to "go potty" away from their bedding.
It's only when confined in small spaces that pigs have no choice but to eliminate where they live.
Now that we've cleared the air of the "dirty pig" myth, it's time for perhaps the most
endearing facts about pigs: mother pigs sing to their babies while nursing.
. Scientists believe mother pigs sing these songs to guide their piglets' nursing so that
it synchronizes with their milk production.
That way, they get the most out of every meal.
Mother pigs can determine which of their piglets is in the most need based solely on the calls
they make, and will respond to their cries differently and more intensely than the cries
from piglets who are actually doing fine.
Pigs are devoted mothers, and fiercely protective of their babies.
This powerful bond is destroyed in the animal products industries, where piglets are taken
from their mothers within days or weeks of their birth.
But momma pigs aren't alone in their capacity for love, which brings us to our penultimate
pig fact: pigs are empathetic.
Pigs exhibit what's called "emotional contagion," which sounds like a disease, but actually
means they pick up on the emotional state of those around them.
We already learned that pigs are capable of assuming what other pigs know, and what they
can or can't see (perspective taking).
Research shows they also share and match emotional experiences with one another.
We've all experienced someone else making us feel uneasy with their nervousness,
or lifted up with their joy.
Just like us, pigs pick up on each other's fear, excitement, nervousness, or delight.
Given all these incredible facts, why are we so wrong about pigs?
The answer to that is our final fact.
Our perception of pigs largely stems from our treatment of them as "food animals,"
and their resulting behavior and characteristics when confined and stressed within the animal products industries.
Within these industries, pigs are deprived of the space, socialization, mental stimulation,
clean environment, and emotional stability they need to thrive.
As we learned, pigs perform admirably on intelligence tests, are super social, and have strong memories.
However, their social and cognitive abilities are impacted by their environment, just like
humans and other animals.
Pigs raised in the animal agriculture industries suffer cognitive and long-term memory impairment,
display behavioral abnormalities, and are even driven mad by the conditions.
We know pigs are every bit as sensitive, sentient, and emotive as dogs—and highly intelligent.
Yet for most people, it's horrifying to imagine a beloved dog in the same conditions we subject pigs to.
These incredible beings deserve more from us.
And the good news is, we can choose to no longer exploit them.
For guidance on taking pigs off of your plate, go to BiteSizeVegan.org/GoVeganGuide
I hope you enjoyed learning these surprising facts about pigs!
To stay in the loop about new Bite Size Vegan content and updates, please subscribe,
and sign up for the newsletter or follow the Telegram channel for the most reliable notifications.
Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.