Pig

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

This article is about the pig genus. For the most familiar species, see Domestic pig. For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation).

"Swine" redirects here. For the river, see Świna.

"Sus" redirects here. For the acronym, see SUS.

Pig and piglet
Domestic sow with piglet
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Suidae Genus: Sus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus

Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. They have been domesticated and raised as livestock by some peoples for meat (called pork) as well as for leather. Their bristly hairs are also traditionally used for brushes. Wild pigs continue to fill these functions in certain parts of the world.

Contents 1 Description and behaviour 2 Pig species 2.1 Hybrid swine 3 Linguistics 3.1 Etymology 3.2 Other pig-related words 4 Cultural references to pigs 5 Pigs in religion 6 Environmental impacts 7 Health issues 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Description and behaviour

Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume both plants and animals. Pigs like to scavenge and will eat any kind of food, including dead insects, worms, rotting carcasses, excreta (including their own), garbage, and other pigs. In the wild, they are foraging animals. Pigs that are allowed to forage may be watched by swineherds. Because of their foraging abilities and excellent sense of smell, they are used to find truffles in many European countries. They are also fattened to be eaten as ham and other types of meat, such as bacon.

Pigs are very intelligent, therefore, they are highly trainable animals, and some, such as the Asian pot-bellied pig, are kept as pets. A litter of piglets typically contains between 6 and 12 animals. Occasionally, in captivity, pigs may eat their own young.

Pigs do not have effective sweat glands [1], so pigs cool themselves using water or mud during hot weather. They also use mud as a form of sunscreen to protect their skin from sunburn. Mud also provides protection against flies and parasites.

[edit] Pig species

• Sus barbatus Bearded Pig; Malaysia, Indonesia
• Sus bucculentus Vietnamese Warty Pig
• Sus cebifrons Visayas Warty Pig
• Sus celebensis Celebes Warty Pig
• Sus daelius Poulter Warty Pig
• Sus heureni Flores Warty Pig
• Sus philippensis Philippine Warty Pig
• Sus salvanius Pigmy Hog; NE India, Himalayas
• Sus scrofa (also called S. domesticus) Domestic pig, razorback, wild boar; Europe, Asia
• Sus timoriensis Timor Warty Pig
• Sus verrucosus Javan pig, Warty Pig; Indonesia, Philippines
• Sus habeoncosus Malaysian pig, Warty Pig

[edit] Hybrid swine

Domestic Tamworth Pigs are often crossed with wild boar to create "Iron Age Pigs" that resemble early domestic pigs. The piglets have stripes or blotches like young boar. "Iron Age Pigs" are a common attraction at farm parks. The hybrids are tamer than wild boar, but less tractable than domestic swine and generally become specialist pork sausages. Other domestic breeds of pig have been crossed with wild boar to produce a leaner meat for the specialist meat trade.

Various domestic pigs have been crossed with American wild hogs to produce compact, hairy hog-like hybrids.

In "The Variation Of Animals And Plants Under Domestication" Charles Darwin wrote: The European wild boar and the Chinese domesticated pig are almost certainly specifically distinct: Sir F. Darwin crossed a sow of the latter breed with a wild Alpine boar which had become extremely tame, but the young, though having half-domesticated blood in their veins, were "extremely wild in confinement", and would not eat swill like common English pigs.

[edit] Linguistics

[edit] Etymology

Modern English "pig" probably derives from Old English "*picg", which was found within compound words, the ultimate origin is unknown but Dutch "big" (meaning "young pig") seems to be a cognate. Originally "pig" referred to young pigs only as the word for adults was swine. Another Old English word for "pig" was "fearh", related to "furrow" from the Proto-Indo-European stem "*perk" meaning "dig, furrow" (compare Latin "porcus" meaning "pig") . This reflects a widespread Indo-European tendency to name animals from typical attributes or activities. A young pig which has just weaned is called a shoat

[edit] Other pig-related words

• The noise that a pig makes is usually represented as "oink" in the English language but in many different ways in other languages – for instance, chrum (Polish), hunk (Albanian), hulu (Mandarin Chinese), nøff (Norwegian) and so on. See oink for a fuller list.
• A young pig which has just weaned is called a shoat
• Early footballs were originally made from animal bladders, often from pigs. This was the origin of the term pigskins.
• The familiar piggybank got its name and shape as a result of a pun on the word pygg, a type of clay commonly used to produce household items in the 18th Century.
• Pig iron is so named because the molten newly-smelted iron was once poured into molds resembling rows of suckling pigs.
• A type of barrel called a "hog's head" appears often in the writings of Mark Twain.
• A "hogshead" is a large volume of liquid. The term is also a colloquial reference to the gearbox for the "drive" wheels of automobiles, especially for large transport trucks, particularly those used in the Pulpwood industry of the Southeastern United States.

[edit] Cultural references to pigs

Main article: Cultural references to pigs

As an animal living closely with the people, pigs were and are frequently referenced in human culture.

[edit] Pigs in religion

• In ancient Egypt pigs were associated with Set, the rival to the sun god Horus. When Set fell into disfavor with the Egyptians swineherds were forbidden to enter temples.
• In Hinduism the god Visnu took the form of a boar in order to save the earth from a demon who had dragged it to the bottom of the sea.
• In ancient Greece, a sow was an appropriate sacrifice to Demeter and had been her favorite animal since she had been the Great Goddess of archaic times. Initiates at the Eleusinian Mysteries began by sacrificing a pig.
• The pig is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Believers in Chinese astrology associate each animal with certain personality traits. See: Pig (Zodiac).
• The dietary laws of Judaism (Kashrut, adj. Kosher) and Islam (Halal) forbid the eating of flesh of swine or pork in any form, considering the pig to be an unclean animal (see taboo food and drink).
• In Christianity pigs are associated with Saint Anthony, the patron saint of swineherds.

[edit] Environmental impacts

Domestic pigs which escaped from farms or were allowed to forage in the wild, and in some cases wild boars which were introduced as prey for hunting, have given rise to large populations of feral pigs in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and other areas where pigs are not native. Accidental or deliberate releases of pigs into countries or environments where they are an alien species have caused extensive environmental damage. Their omnivorous diet, aggressive behaviour and their feeding method of rooting in the ground all combine to severely damage ecosystems unused to pigs. Pigs will even eat small animals and destroy nests of ground nesting birds. [2] The Invasive Species Specialist Group lists feral pigs as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species and says about them [3] :

Feral pigs like other introduced mammals are major drivers of extinction and ecosystem change. They have been introduced into many parts of the world, and will damage crops and home gardens as well as potentially spreading disease. They uproot large areas of land, eliminating native vegetation and spreading weeds. This results in habitat alteration, a change in plant succession and composition and a decrease in native fauna dependent on the original habitat.

[edit] Health issues

Pigs harbour a range of parasites and diseases that can be easily transmitted to man. These include trichinosis, cysticercosis, and brucellosis. They also very commonly have large concentrations of parasitic ascarid worms in their guts. The presence of these diseases and parasites is one of the main reasons why pork meat should always be well cooked or cured before eating. Pigs can also be aggressive and pig induced injuries are relatively common in areas where pigs are reared of where they form part of the wild or feral fauna.

[edit] See also

• Wild Boar
• Razorback
• Domestic pig
• Family farm hog pen
• Hog-baiting
• Guinea pig (is a rodent)
• Intensive pig farming
• Razorbacks (mascot for the sports teams of the University of Arkansas, also known as "The Hogs")
• List of fictional pigs
• Pig iron
• Sty
• Pig War
• Fetal pig
• Hogzilla
• Pig Olympics

[edit] External links

• National Pork Board's Children's Page
• Alberta Pork informational page (PDF)
• Swine Breeds, with pictures
• Managing pig health
• Information on over 130 pig diseases
• Pig Disease identification software tool
• Lots of piggy photos