Fun Pigs Facts For Kids

Pigs are extremely smart and intelligent animals and are more clever than cats and dogs. However, pigs are afraid of many animals ranging from wild boars to dogs to predatory birds.

Pigs are bred by three different techniques that include the likes of hand mating, artificial insemination, and pen mating. Often it is believed that they are smelly creatures owing to sweat but these animals don't sweat at all.

They have a hairy skin which is devoid of sweat glands. Pigs are also considered dirty as well since they love rolling around in mud.

Clean pigs look quite cute and if you take care of them and don't leave them in the mud for too long, they will not only be clean but you can learn a lot of things about this cute animal. For example, like dogs, pigs can learn names too!

Pigs can feed on everything, literally everything including poop. Pigs are known to kill humans and it has often been reported that groups of pigs have hunted and killed helpless humans.

There are different names for a group of pigs. If it is just a group then it is called a 'drift' while if it is a group of hogs it is called a 'team'.

A collection of swine is called a 'sounder' while a group of small pigs is called 'a litter'. Meat that comes from a pig is called pork and it is consumed globally. Pork meat is a favorite food for many, along with bacon.

Bacon is another type of pork-based product that comes from a pig. Human beings domesticated pigs long ago and the human-pig relation has mostly been food related, however more and more people are keeping pigs as pets.

If you find our content interesting then do check out facts about bighorn sheep and mountain goat.

Pigs Interesting Facts

What type of animal are pigs?

Pigs are average-sized animals that belong to the family Suidae.

What class of animal do pigs belong to?

There is a wide range of species of pigs and they all fall under the class Mammalia of the Animalia kingdom.

How many pigs are there in the world?

As of 2020, it has been estimated that there are roughly around 677.6 million pigs in the world.

Where do pigs live?

Pigs are found all across the globe and in almost every country like the United States. They live in numerous places like pigsties, forests, and grasslands.

What is a pig's habitat?

The habitat of pigs changes from species to species. Wild boars and wild pigs are animals that predominantly reside in forests and wild grasslands. However domesticated pigs are kept in pigsties and enjoy living in mud.

Who do pigs live with?

Wild pigs and wild boars live with their families of around 50 individuals. As for domesticated pigs, these animals prefer staying with their own species. Also, domesticated pigs in farms are often known to interact with other animals like dogs and sheep.

How long do pigs live?

The average lifespan of domesticated pigs lies within a range of 15 to 20 years.

How do they reproduce?

The reproduction process of pigs is similar for all of the different species and breeds. These animals are known to attain their puberty at around six to eight months and thus they become sexually mature after that.

Generally, mother pigs produce one to two litters every year with one litter being optimum for the animal.

The gestation period for sows ranges from around 115 days and the newborn piglets feed on the milk of the mother who lactates for around 25 days. In the breeding centers, for the best quality offspring, different superior breeds of pigs are crossed together to mix the genome and thereby produce a higher quality of species.

What is their conservation status?

As there are numerous species of pigs in the world the conservation status of each species is different. There are a few species like the bearded pig which are Vulnerable however, the majority of the other species have been listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature or the IUCN Red List.

Pigs Fun Facts

What do pigs look like?

Pigs are average to large-sized animals that have a large head and a thick neck. They also have a long snout which helps them to dig up the soil and the presence of olfactory nerves in their snout gives them an excellent sense of smell.

Pigs can't sweat as they don't have any sweat glands. The legs of pigs are generally small in comparison to the rest of the body and they have hoofed toes.

Pigs have a total of 44 teeth and the males usually have canines that protrude out like tusks. They also have a small coiled tail.

How cute are they?

Pigs are considered extremely cute animals not just because of their looks but also due to the fact that they are highly intelligent animals. Baby pigs or piglets are considered adorable by many people.

How do they communicate?

Pigs are social animals and are known to communicate with one another using a wide range of techniques and signs. These social animals usually use scent as they have a brilliant sense of smell, their body language, gestures, and vocal sounds to communicate with one another.

Very similar to humans, the tone also depicts what the animal intends to say.

How big are pigs?

Pigs are average to large-sized animals depending on their species. These animals have a length of around 35-79 in (90-200 cm) and 22-47 in (55-120 cm) in height. In comparison to an average size common cat which is 18 in (45cm) in length, pigs are often two to three times the former's size.

How fast can pigs run?

The speed of pigs differs from species to species as well as from one habitat to another. In general, they are extremely fast animals and can easily outrun any human being.

Domesticated pigs are slower in speed in comparison with others. They have a speed range of almost 11 mph (17 kph). On the other hand, wild pigs are extremely fast and they achieve a speed of around 30 mph (50 kph) while chasing or sprinting.

How much do pigs weigh?

Pigs are considered pretty heavy animals in comparison to their size. They weigh roughly around 165-331 lb (75-150 kg).

What are male pigs and female pigs called?

A male pig that is mature in weight, size, and age is referred to as a 'boar' while a castrated male is called a 'barrow'. Female pigs when they are young are called a 'gilt' and after maturity, they are termed as 'sows'.

What would you call a baby pig?

Young pigs are called 'piglets' and these piglets are extremely cute and adorable creatures.

What do they eat?

Pigs are omnivores however they are not predatory animals. From eating plant matter to scavenging on dead animal carcasses, pigs are known to consume everything.

Wild pigs and boars eat roots, stems, leaves, and leftover carcasses of dead animals. However, pigs that grow up in farms are fed with good quality food by farmers. This includes the likes of high-quality grains, crops, vegetables, and medicines.

Are they dangerous?

While growing up male swine tend to become more aggressive in comparison with female swine and are known to fight with one another. These animals have been known to attack humans but those instances are rare. In jungles, wild boars are extremely aggressive animals and their attacks can prove fatal, so it would be best to avoid them.

Would they make a good pet?

Although pigs are raised by numerous people all across the globe, they don't make excellent pets per se in comparison with cats or dogs. They are extremely intelligent, social animals and we can learn a lot from them.

However, they tend to become bossy, manipulative as well as stubborn. Moreover, they have a tendency of becoming aggressive and thus become self-destructive to both themselves and nearby areas. Also, they enjoy rolling around in mud so this could make your house very dirty.

Did you know...

Iconic British rock band Pink Floyd titled a song 'Pigs (Three Different Ones)' from their album 'Animals' in 1977 which became extremely famous.

Newborn piglets have the ability to get acquainted with the voice of mother pigs.

There have been numerous children's stories where the lead characters have been pigs like 'Three Little Pigs'.

Where do pigs originate from?

Upon extensive research and study of the DNA and nuclear genomes of pigs by scientists all over the world, it has been found that the domestic species of pigs are said to have originated from Sus scrofa which is also known as the Eurasian wild boar.

Different types of pigs

There are numerous types of pig breeds and species that are found all across the globe. These include the likes of wild boar, domestic pig, mini pig, doruc pig, large white pig, red wattle hog, guinea hog, and numerous other different breeds.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including takin, or plains zebra.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Pig coloring pages.