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The domestic pig is the cousin of the wild pig (Sus Scrofa) which is also called a hog or swine. It is specifically bred from the wild pig to enhance its size and to improve its character Wild boars are found throughout Europe, Asian and Africa.

Appearance

The domestic pig is similar to the wild pig in appearance as it has a thick hide especially over its back and shoulders. Its full length from head to tail is around 0.9 to 1.8 metres.</ref> It has two large yellowish tusks that are cut short to reduce the risk of danger to the farmer The most sensitive part of the pig is the snout, which is long and turned up and contains large, wide nostrils that are wet most of the time. The pig's eyes are small, deep set, black or dark brown and also wet most of the time.</ref> Pigs have large ears that can either be flopped down or ears that point up. They rely more on their sense of smell and hearing rather than their sight because of their small eyes. Pigs have short stubby legs and a small curled tail. They are naturally extremely fat because it spends the majority of its time foraging for food, eating and growing.

Diet

The domestic pig is an omnivore meaning that it can eat both plants and animals.</ref> Its diet consists of mostly berries, household scraps, fungi, fish, roots and grains. Some farmers prefer to add fermented fruits and berries because it adds a certain flavor to the ham. They are scavengers by nature and can will eat almost anything they find in nature such as insects, tree bark and shoots. </ref> Farmers feed the pigs grains such as corn and wheat to easily and quickly them up.

Special Abilities

The domestic pig has an amazing sense of smell like most other pigs. Some can be trained to find certain types of edible mushrooms and roots. Usually the runts of the litter are trained for this purpose because they are not worth much as a meat animal. The pig is a very intelligent animal that is sensitive to climate change. Two days before a storm, pigs start to become agitated and react aggressively. They will start to burrow up large piles of dirt or hay and when the storm hits, they hide themselves until it is over.

Behaviour

The domestic pig resembles more of a dog than cattle or sheep.</ref> The often enjoy being huddled together in groups to receive each other's company and to maintain physical contact.</ref> When a group of unacquainted pigs meet for the first time, they establish a dominance hierarchy by fighting. Their fighting style is bites to the neck as well as strong tackles upwards and sideways.</ref> When the hierarchy is established, the lower pigs on the hierarchy suffer from getting less food and water.</ref> Pigs are very vulnerable in hot conditions because the rate of sweating is low, so there is not enough thermoregulatory balance for keeping a stable temperature. Instead, pigs become more active at night, seek shade and burrow themselves deep into the mud to stay cool. Young pigs naturally huddle together because of their sensitivity to the cold. Mother sows create nests to keep their litters warm.</ref><ref>"Animal Behaviour". Retrieved 3 April 2014.