Pig Domestication: Trivia
The domestication of the pig is one of the most curious among farm animals. After all, the relationship between pigs and man goes back thousands of years. Furthermore, it is believed that the domestication of these animals took place in two different regions.
The pig is very intelligent, although it has been little studied, as are other farm animals.
They are among the smartest animals in the world. Also, they have curious behaviors. Among them, the fact that they naturally make nests before giving birth.
the domestication of the pig
About 13 thousand years ago, in the region of Anatolia, the domestication of the pig began. However, it is believed that this was happening in parallel in the Mekong Valley, some eight thousand years ago.
This process is similar to what happened with other species, such as sheep. Some authors believe that, in Europe, there was also a process of domestication of the pig. In any case, what is clear is that much of the DNA of Asian pigs persists in Europe.
According to this theory, Asian pigs would have been introduced to Europe and crossed with wild boar. A recent study analyzed the genes of more than 600 pigs in Asia and Europe and concluded that European pigs have DNA from many different populations.
the expansion of the pig
The pig’s arrival in America came much later, thanks to explorers like Eduardo de Soto. Interestingly, the domestication of pigs has made them a veritable invasive alien species.
This was because they adapted to ecosystems, which had an impact on native animals in the Americas.
Currently there are several countries that hunt wild pigs, as well as hybrids with wild boar (boar pig ).
That’s because these hybrid animals cause a lot of problems. After all, it is estimated that there are a billion wild boars in the world.
In China, there are 454 million pigs, while in the United States there are 59 million, and in Spain there are 23 million.
Pig Curiosities
Pigs are raised mainly for their meat. However, there are people who use their leather to make tools, brushes or even shields.
In some places, such as China or India, these animals were even fed with human excrement and leftovers, through the so-called “pig toilets”.
Pigs are special animals and, thanks to a mutation, are immune to snake venom, as well as hedgehogs or mongooses.
This mutation in a receptor makes the neurotoxin in many snakes unable to bind to target cells.
Pigs arrived in the Iberian Peninsula probably in the Neolithic, with two main varieties: Iberian and Celtic.
The first is the origin of the Iberian pig, as well as other breeds, such as the Murcian pig or the Canarian black pig.
In turn, the Celtic races appear in northern Spain, and the best known are the Asturian gochu or the Galician.
