Pig

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This article is about the genus. For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation).
Pig
Temporal range: Early Pleistocene to recent
Sus Barbatus, the Bornean Bearded Pig (12616351323).jpg
Bornean bearded pig at the London Zoo.
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Subfamily: Suinae
Genus: Sus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the even-toed ungulate family
Suidae. Pigs include the domestic pig and its ancestor, the common Eurasian wild
boar (Sus scrofa), along with other species. Related creatures outside the genus
include the peccary, the babirusa, and the warthog. Pigs, like all suids, are
native to the Eurasian and African continents. Juvenile pigs are known as piglets.
[1] Pigs are highly social and intelligent animals.[2]

With around 1 billion individuals alive at any time, the domestic pig is among the
most populous large mammals in the world.[3][4] Pigs are omnivores and can consume
a wide range of food.[5] Pigs are biologically similar to humans and are thus
frequently used for human medical research.[6]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 Description and behaviour
3 Distribution and evolution
4 Habitat and reproduction
5 Diet and foraging
6 Relationship with humans
6.1 Use in human healthcare
7 Species
8 Domestic pigs
9 Cultural and religious reference to pigs
9.1 In folklore, folkways, and mythology
9.2 In religion
10 Environmental impacts
11 Health issues
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
Etymology
The Online Etymology Dictionary provides anecdotal evidence as well as linguistic,
saying that the term derives

probably from Old English *picg, found in compounds, ultimate origin unknown.
Originally "young pig" (the word for adults was swine). Apparently related to Low
German bigge, Dutch big ("but the phonology is difficult" -- OED). ... Another Old
English word for "pig" was fearh, related to furh "furrow," from PIE *perk- "dig,
furrow" (source also of Latin porc-us "pig," see pork). "This reflects a widespread
IE tendency to name animals from typical attributes or activities" [Roger Lass].
Synonyms grunter, oinker are from sailors' and fishermen's euphemistic avoidance of
uttering the word pig at sea, a superstition perhaps based on the fate of the
Gadarene swine, who drowned.[7]

The Online Etymology Dictionary also traces the evolution of sow, the term for a
female pig, through various historical languages:

Old English sugu, su "female of the swine," from Proto-Germanic *su- (cognates: Old
Saxon, Old High German su, German Sau, Dutch zeug, Old Norse syr), from PIE root
*su- (cognates: Sanskrit sukarah "wild boar, swine;" Avestan hu "wild boar;" Greek
hys "swine;" Latin sus "swine", suinus "pertaining to swine"; Old Church Slavonic
svinija "swine;" Lettish sivens "young pig;" Welsh hucc, Irish suig "swine; Old
Irish socc "snout, plowshare"), possibly imitative of pig noise; note that Sanskrit
sukharah means "maker of (the sound) su.[7]

It is entirely likely that the word to call pigs, "soo-ie," is similarly derived.

An adjectival form is porcine. Another adjectival form (technically for the

subfamily rather than genus name) is suine (comparable to bovine, canine, etc.);
for the family, it is suid (as with bovid, canid).

Description and behaviour

Skull of domestic pig.

(Sus scrofa domesticus).
A typical pig has a large head with a long snout that is strengthened by a special
prenasal bone and by a disk of cartilage at the tip.[8] The snout is used to dig
into the soil to find food and is a very acute sense organ. There are four hoofed
toes on each foot, with the two larger central toes bearing most of the weight, but
the outer two also being used in soft ground.[9]

The dental formula of adult pigs is

3.1.4.3
3.1.4.3
, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing. In the male,
the canine teeth form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by
constantly being ground against each other.[8]

Occasionally, captive mother pigs may savage their own piglets, often if they
become severely stressed.[10] Some attacks on newborn piglets are non-fatal. Others
may cause the death of the piglets and sometimes, the mother may eat the piglets.
It is estimated that 50% of piglet fatalities are due to the mother attacking, or
unintentionally crushing, the newborn pre-weaned animals.[11]

Distribution and evolution

Sus scrofa domesticus, miniature pig, juvenile.jpg
Pig in a bucket.jpg
With around 1 billion individuals alive at any time, the domestic pig is one of the
most numerous large mammals on the planet.[3][4]

The ancestor of the domestic pig is the wild boar, which is one of the most
numerous and widespread large mammals. Its many subspecies are native to all but
the harshest climates of continental Eurasia and its islands and Africa as well,
from Ireland and India to Japan and north to Siberia.

Long isolated from other pigs on the many islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the
Philippines, pigs have evolved into many different species, including wild boar,
bearded pigs, and warty pigs. Humans have introduced pigs into Australia, North and
South America, and numerous islands, either accidentally as escaped domestic pigs
which have gone feral, or as wild boar.

Habitat and reproduction

The wild pig (Sus scrofa) can take advantage of any forage resources. Therefore, it
can live in virtually any productive habitat that can provide enough water to
sustain large mammals such as pigs. If there is increased foraging of wild pigs in
certain areas, it can cause a nutritional shortage which can cause the pig
population to decrease. If the nutritional state returns to normal, the pig
population will most likely rise due to the pigs' naturally increased reproduction
rate.[12]

Diet and foraging

Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume both plants and animals. In the
wild, they are foraging animals, primarily eating leaves, roots, fruits, and
flowers, in addition to some insects and fish. As livestock, pigs are fed mostly
corn and soybean meal[13] with a mixture of vitamins and minerals added to the
diet. Traditionally, they were raised on dairy farms and called "mortgage lifters",
due to their ability to use the excess milk as well as whey from cheese and butter
making combined with pasture.[14] Older pigs will consume three to five gallons of
water per day.[15] When kept as pets, the optimal healthy diet consists mainly of a
balanced diet of raw vegetables, although some may give their pigs conventional
mini pig pellet feed.[16]

Relationship with humans

A pig trained to find truffles.

Domesticated pigs, especially miniature breeds, are commonly kept as pets.[17]
Domestic pigs are raised commercially as livestock; materials that are garnered
include their meat (known as pork), leather, and their bristly hairs which are used
to make brushes. Because of their foraging abilities and excellent sense of smell,
they are used to find truffles in many European countries. Both wild and feral pigs
are commonly hunted.

The relatively short, stiff, coarse hairs of the pig are called bristles, and were
once so commonly used in paintbrushes that in 1946 the Australian Government
launched Operation Pig Bristle. In May 1946, in response to a shortage of pig
bristles for paintbrushes to paint houses in the post-World War II construction
boom, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flew in 28 short tons of pig bristles
from China, their only commercially available source at the time.[18]

Use in human healthcare

Main article: Domestic pig � In human healthcare
Human skin is very similar to pig skin, therefore pig skin has been used in many
preclinical studies.[19][20] In addition to providing use in biomedical
research[21][19][20] and for drug testing,[22] genetic advances in human healthcare
have provided a pathway for domestic pigs to become xenotransplantation candidates
for humans.[23]

Species

Pig 'oink'
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Oink!
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Bearded pigs (Sus barbatus)

Skeleton of foot.
The genus Sus is currently thought to contain eight living species. A number of
extinct species (�) are known from fossils.

Sus ahoenobarbus Huet, 1888 � Palawan bearded pig

Sus amyus
�Sus australis Han, 1987 � Early Pleistocene of China
Sus barbatus M�ller, 1838 � Bornean bearded pig
�Sus bijiashanensis Han et al., 1975 � Early Pleistocene of China
�Sus bucculentus Heude, 1892 � Heude's pig or Indo-Chinese (or Vietnam) warty pig
Sus cebifrons Heude, 1888 � Visayan warty pig
Sus celebensis M�ller & Schlegel, 1843 � Celebes warty pig or Sulawesi warty pig
�Sus falconeri � Pleistocene of the Siwalik region, India
�Sus houi Qi et al., 1999 � Pleistocene of China
�Sus hysudricus[citation needed]
�Sus jiaoshanensis Zhao, 1980 � Early Pleistocene of China
�Sus liuchengensis Han, 1987 � Early Pleistocene of China
�Sus lydekkeri Zdansky, 1928 � Pleistocene of China
�Sus offecinalis Koenigswald, 1933 � China
Sus oliveri Groves, 1997 � Oliver's warty pig or Mindoro warty pig
�Sus peii Han, 1987 � Early Pleistocene of China
Sus philippensis Nehring, 1886 � Philippine warty pig
Sus scrofa � Wild boar Linnaeus, 1758
Sus scrofa domestica Erxleben, 1777 � Domestic pig (sometimes treated as a full
species)
�Sus subtriquetra Xue, 1981
�Sus strozzi Forsyth Major, 1881 - Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Europe
Sus verrucosus Boie, 1832 � Javan warty pig
�Sus xiaozhu Han et al., 1975 � Early Pleistocene of China
The pygmy hog, formerly Sus salvanius is now placed in the monotypic genus Porcula.
[24]

Domestic pigs

Swedish pig farmer with piglet. Early 20th century

Green glazed toilet with pigsty model. China, Eastern Han dynasty 25�220 CE
Main article: Domestic pig
Pigs have been domesticated since ancient times in the Old World. Archaeological
evidence suggests that pigs were being managed in the wild in a way similar to the
way they are managed by some modern New Guineans from wild boar as early as
13,000�12,700 BP in the Near East in the Tigris Basin,[25] �ay�n�, Cafer H�y�k,
Nevali �ori.[26] Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BP in
Cyprus that must have been introduced from the mainland which suggests
domestication in the adjacent mainland by then.[27] A separate domestication also
occurred in China.[28]

In India, pigs have been domesticated for a long time mostly in Goa and some rural
areas for pig toilets. This was also done in China. Though ecologically logical as
well as economical, pig toilets are waning in popularity as use of septic tanks
and/or sewerage systems is increasing in rural areas.

Pigs were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by Hernando de Soto and
other early Spanish explorers. Pigs are particularly valued in China and on certain
oceanic islands, where their self-sufficiency allows them to be turned loose,
although the practice is not without its drawbacks (see environmental impact).

The domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) is usually given the scientific name Sus
scrofa, although some taxonomists call it S. domesticus, reserving S. scrofa for
the wild boar. It was domesticated approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. The
upper canines form sharp distinctive tusks that curve outward and upward. Compared
to other artiodactyles, their head is relatively long, pointed, and free of warts.
Their head and body length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 m (35 to 71 in) and they can
weigh between 50 and 350 kg (110 and 770 lb).

In November 2012, scientists managed to sequence the genome of the domestic pig.
The similarities between the pig and human genomes mean that the new data may have
wide applications in the study and treatment of human genetic diseases.[29][30][31]

In August 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their
process of domestication. The process of domestication was assumed to have been
initiated by humans, involved few individuals and relied on reproductive isolation
between wild and domestic forms. The study found that the assumption of
reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study
indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with
Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe where they crossed with wild boar. A
model that fitted the data included admixture with a now extinct ghost population
of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-
crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of
selection at DNA loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that
human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of
gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same
process may also apply to other domesticated animals.[32] [33]

Cultural and religious reference to pigs

See also: Pigs in popular culture
Pigs appear in the traditional and popular arts, media, and cultures of many
societies, where they sometimes carry religious symbolism. In Asia the wild boar is
one of 12 animal images comprising the Chinese zodiac, while in Europe the boar
represents a standard charge in heraldry. In Islam and Judaism pigs and those who
handle them are viewed negatively, and the consumption of pork is forbidden.
Epicureans consider the pig as an official mascot or totem, and bronze sculptures
of pigs have been found in the Epicurean library at Herculaneum. Pigs are
frequently alluded to in folk art, idioms, metaphors, and proverbs, and also
occasionally in parables (e.g. Parable of the Prodigal Son).

In folklore, folkways, and mythology

Pig at a German new year event, 1965.

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In European folklore, there is a widespread belief that pigs are intensely
frightened by mirrors.[citation needed]
In many European countries, a feast has formed around slaughtering a pig.
In Germany, pigs are known as a symbol for good luck. Marzipan pigs are a popular
confectionery, especially as a gift on New Year's Eve.
Superstitious sailors consider pigs to be unlucky because they have cloven hooves
like the Devil and are terrified of water.[34] Pigs would not be carried on boats.
Fishermen once regarded pigs as harbingers of bad luck: a fisherman seeing a pig on
his way to work would rather turn round and go home. This even extended to a
prohibition of the word "pig" on board a vessel. This is why the animals were
referred to, across North East England, as "gissies".
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. According to Herodotus, swineherds were a kind of separate sect or caste,
which only married among themselves. Egyptians regarded pigs as unworthy sacrifices
to their gods other than the Moon and Dionysus, to whom pigs were offered on the
day of the full Moon. Herodotus states that, though he knew the reason why
Egyptians abominated swine at their other feasts but they sacrificed them at this
one; however, it was to him "not a seemly one for me to tell".[35]
In ancient Greece, a sow was an appropriate sacrifice to Demeter and had been her
favorite animal since archaic times. Initiates at the Eleusinian Mysteries began by
sacrificing a pig. Pig were also sacrificed to Aphrodite.
The ancient Romans practiced a sacrifice called the suovetaurilia, in which a pig,
a ram, and a bull were sacrificed, as one of the most solemn acts of the Roman
religion.
In Buddhism the deity Marici is often depicted riding in a carriage hauled by
several pigs.
The Celts had a god of swine called Moccus, who under Roman occupation was
identified with Mercury. In Celtic mythology, a cauldron overflowing with cooked
pork was one of the attributes of The Dagda.
In the Chinese zodiac, the Pig is one of the 12-year cycle of animals. Believers in
Chinese astrology associate each animal with certain personality traits (see: Pig
(zodiac)).
In Christianity the book of Mark, in an event referred to as the exorcism of the
Gerasene demoniac Jesus casts the demons Legion (demon) possessing a swine herder
from Gerasene; into 2000 of the swine herders pigs.[36]
In Haitian Vodou, Ezili Dantor, the lwa of motherhood, is associated with the black
Creole Pig of Haiti, her favorite animal sacrifice.
In Hinduism the god Vishnu took the form of a four-armed humanoid with the head of
a boar named Varaha in order to save the Earth from a demon who had dragged it to
the bottom of the sea.
In Islam the eating of pork is also sinful (see Haraam). The Qur'an prohibits the
consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173,
5:3, 6:145 and 16:115. "Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the
flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah."
[Al-Qur'an 5:3] Islam treats pigs as inedible animals par excellence, the animal
that is central to the concepts of haram.
The dietary laws of Judaism (Kashrut) forbid, among other kinds of meat, the eating
of pork in any form, considering the pig to be an unclean animal as food (see taboo
food and drink). Pork is as forbidden as the meat of any other unclean animal, but
probably due to extensive use of pork in modern days, abhorrence of pork is far
stronger and emotional in traditional Jewish culture than that of other forbidden
foods. Many Ancient Jews also held the prohibition on pigs above other taboos. In
De Specialibus Legibus, Philo of Alexandria, a first-century Jewish writer, relates
that pigs were lazy scavengers, the embodiment of vice. Philo also argued that
since pigs will eat the flesh of human corpses, that men should abstain from eating
them so as not to be contaminated.[37]
In Nordic Mythology, "Gold-Bristle" or "Gold-Mane" was Freyr's golden boar, created
by the dwarves Brokk and Sindri as part of a challenge. His shining fur is said to
fill the sky, trees, and sea with light.
Among Seventh-day Adventists and some other denominations[who?], the eating of pork
is prohibited. Most Christians believe that the eating of pork is not prohibited,
according to the teachings of the New Testament. In Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy,
and other, older Christian groups, pigs are associated with Saint Anthony the
Great, who is known as the patron saint of swineherds.
Environmental impacts

Feral pigs (razorbacks) in Florida

Main article: Environmental impacts of pig farming
Domestic pigs that have escaped from urban areas 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 change. Their omnivorous
diet, aggressive behaviour, and their feeding method of rooting in the ground all
combine to severely alter ecosystems unused to pigs. Pigs will even eat small
animals and destroy nests of ground nesting birds.[8] The Invasive Species
Specialist Group lists feral pigs on the list of the world's 100 worst invasive
species and says:[38]

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.