Smart,Clean,andLean
Doyousweatlikeapig?Chancesareyoudon't,especiallyifyoucanwringoutyourshirtattheendofahotday.Contrarytopopularbelief,pigsareunabletosweat;instead,theywallowinmudtocooldown.Theirmuckyappearancegivespigsanundeservedreputationforslovenliness.Infact,pigsaresomeofthecleanestanimalsaround,refusingtoexcreteanywhereneartheirlivingoreatingareaswhengivenachoice.
Piglet,"host"ofTHEJOYOFPIGS.
Pigsaremisunderstoodinmanyways.Manypeoplethinkofthemasportlyandstupid,buttheNATUREprogramTHEJOYOFPIGSshowsushowintelligentpigsreallyare.(Theyarenaturallylean,too,unlesstheyareoverfedbyhumans.)Pigsaresmarterthananyotherdomesticanimal.Theirabilitytosolveproblems,likethepigI.Q.testonTHEJOYOFPIGS,iswell-documented,andtheyareconsideredbyanimalexpertstobemoretrainablethandogsorcats.
Pigsaredifficulttoclassify.Inpopularculture,theyappearaseverythingfromsweetsimpletons(CHARLOTTE'SWEB)towickedtyrants(ANIMALFARM)tobraveheroes(BABE).Topigfarmers,theanimalisacommodity.Totruffleharvesters,pigsarereliablehunterswhosekeensenseofsmelllocatesthesepriceyfungi.Toscientists,pigsareuniqueasoneoftheonlylargemammalsthatexists,inoneformoranother,ineverypartoftheworld.
Everycontinentbearstheimprintofthepig'sfeet--preferablyinanicemudpuddle.RedriverhogsinWestAfrica,beardedpigsinBorneo,pig-likepeccariesinBolivia,andoutlandishlytuskedIndonesianbabirusaallenjoysimilarlifestylesoffood,water,andagoodrollinthedirt.Thesepigs'Europeanancestorsbecamesomeofthefirstdomesticatedanimalsthousandsofyearsago.Whereverhumanshaveventured,theyhavebroughtpigsalongwiththem.Colonistscarriedpigswiththemtodistantlands,proliferatingpigfarmingthroughouttheworld.
IntheUnitedStates,raisinghogsisbigbusiness.In1997alone,UnitedStateshogfarmersraisedmorethan58millionheadtosupportgrowingdemandsforpork.Butthepopularityofpigsaspetsisgrowing,andmanyAmericansnowkeeppigsintheirhomes.Sowhendinner'sservedinthosehomes,it'smadeforapig,notfromone!