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