Pig Topics

• early spanish explorers
• pot bellied pig
• southeastern north america
• everyday parlance
• breeds of pigs
• domestic pigs
• omnivorous diet
• dead insects
• ground nesting birds
• wild boar
• deliberate releases
• domestic pig
• self sufficiency
• oceanic islands
• distinct species
• aggressive behaviour
• small animals
• alien species
• tree bark
• environmental change

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Pig, Pig

The name hog most commonly refers to the domestic pig ( Sus domestica ) in everyday parlance, but technically encompasses several distinct species, including the Wild Boar.

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, grasses, roots, fruits and flowers. Occasionally while in captivity, pigs may eat their own young if they become severely stressed.A typical pig has a large head with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and by a disk of cartilage in the tip.

Domesticated pigs are commonly raised as livestock by farmers for meat (called pork), as well as for leather.

Some breeds of pigs, such as the Asian pot-bellied pig, are kept as pets.

Domestic Pigs are found across Europe and the Middle East and extend into Asia as far as Indonesia and Japan. They were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by 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 below).

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.

They have small lungs in relation to body size; for this reason, bronchitis or pneumonia can kill a pig quickly.

Source: Wikipedia > Pig