Day 118 – Pig Bot
This is where I tell you how awesome pigs are.
1. Pigs don’t have sweat glands, so they use mud to cool off- and the dried mud helps protect them from the sun (totally natural sunscreen). This is much smarter than our method of using chemicals, though somewhat less attractive. They are one of the few mammals, like humans, without enough fur or hair to prevent sunburn.
2. Pigs have more taste buds than us – around 15,000. That’s more than any other mammal.
3. Pigs are actually really clean, intelligent animals, and are probably only considered dirty because they scavenge food and roll in the mud. Pigs have emotions- they can be happy, sad, bored… just like us. They also recognize other pigs, have complex social hierarchies, and can problem solve. They are highly trainable, just like dogs.
4. Pigs are at least as intelligent as dogs, and possibly more so. They are very like humans in their physiology- especially their eyes and heart. Think about that next time you’re eating pork.
5. Pigs are often thought of as greedy, however, unlike dogs and people, they tend to only eat until full. The reason they are thought of as gluttons is because on average, they eat about 5 pounds of food a day. Considering that they clock in around 100 – 750 lbs, that’s not an unreasonable amount of grub. Just think about how much food we eat in a day.
6. Pigs have four toes on each foot- but only use the middle two for walking…. which is why they kinda look like they are tip-toeing around.
7. Frightened pigs can squeal really really loudly- around 115 decibels. Jet engines are around 113 decibels. Let’s all try really hard not to scare any pigs.
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November 12 2008 01:00 am | animals
Julie on 12 Nov 2008 at 6:48 am #
My totally unscientific observations reveal that pigs also like to play! Two summers ago the pigs at Waterloo park were chasing each other around their pen. It was completely hilarious.
Robotgod on 12 Nov 2008 at 8:10 pm #
woo pigs! I’m glad that the animals at w’loo park get some fun out of life- usually they look pretty bored. Wait…. there are pigs there?
Kathy on 13 Nov 2008 at 9:07 pm #
I second everything you’ve said. I had a pig in highschool and she was such an awesome pet. Huge though.
Sarah Apple on 14 Nov 2008 at 12:49 pm #
curses lady bot. Oscar’s favourite thing in the world is pigs. Although, he’s now claiming if you put a baby pig in the kangeroo’s pocket…just saying…here’s what he wants me to write:
“I like the frog and the pig and the news reporter and the kangeroo and the baby pig that you will make soon.”