POT BELLIED PIG

Sus scrofa domestica

STATUS: 

Not threatened.

DESCRIPTION: 

A pig has a snout for a nose, small eyes, and a small tail, which may be curly, kinked, or straight. It has a thick body and short legs. There are four toes on each foot, with the two large middle toes used for walking.  Pigs are believed to have been domesticated from wild boar as early as 7000 BC in the Near East and, separately, in China.   Pigs are rarely used as working animals. An exception is the use of truffle pigs – ordinary pigs trained to find truffles.  The domestic pig is farmed for its meat called pork, which is obtained by slaughter. Products made of pork include sausage, bacon and ham. The head of a pig can be used to make head cheese. Liver, chitterlings, and other offal from pigs are also widely used for food. In some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, there are religious restrictions on the consumption of pork.   Pigs were mostly used for food, but early civilizations also used the pigs' hides for shields, bones for tools and weapons, and bristles for brushes.  The distinction between wild and domestic animals is slight. Most domestic pigs usually have rather sparse hair covering on their skin, but the woolly coated breeds are known (Mangalitza pig), and some were popular in the past.

SIZE: 

Varies from pig to pig.

POPULATION:

Abundant.
 

LIFESPAN: 

Lifespan varies from pig to pig depending on the needs of the breeder / farmer.

RANGE: 

Modern pigs are found across Europe, and extend into Asia as far as Indonesia and Japan. The distinction between wild and domestic animals is slight.

HABITAT: 

In developing nations, and often in developed nations, the domestic pig is raised outdoors in yards or fields. In some cases pigs are allowed to forage in woods, where they are watched by swineherds, the equivalent of shepherds for pigs.

FOOD: 

Pigs are omnivores, which means that they consume both plants and animals. Pigs will scavenge and have been known to eat any kind of food, including dead insects, worms, tree bark, rotting carcasses, garbage, and even other pigs. In the wild, they are foraging animals, primarily eating leaves and grasses, roots, fruits and flowers. Occasionally, in captivity, pigs may eat their own young, often if they become severely stressed.

BEHAVIOR: 

They are known to be intelligent animals and have been found to be more trainable than dogs or cats. Asian pot-bellied pigs, a small type of domestic pig, have made popular house pets in the United States beginning in the latter half of the 20th century. Regular domestic farmyard pigs have also been known to be kept indoors, but due to their large size and destructive tendencies, they typically need to be moved into an outdoor pen as they grow older. Most pigs have a fear of being picked up, but will usually calm down once placed back on the floor.

OFFSPRING: 

A female pig can become pregnant at around 8-18 months of age. She will then go into estrus every 21 days if not bred. Male pigs become sexually active at 8-10 months of age. A litter of piglets typically contains between 6 and 12 piglets.

THREATS: 

Only threat, per say, is that of the farmers' use of them for meat, their skin for leather, or their hair for bristles.