What do you know about pig behavior?

January 3, 2023 9:45 AM

Pigs build nests.
posted by aniola (8 comments total)

I am a bit of a mammal nerd. I know a lot of weird mammal facts. I did NOT have any clue that pigs built nests. Hooray, one more weird mammal fact to add to my list!

(In before the inevitable "flying pigs" joke?)
posted by caution live frogs at 10:03 AM on January 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

yes we do what about it 🐽
posted by grobstein at 2:27 PM on January 3, 2023

Too cool, I had a few up close experiences with Malay wild pigs. They were all over the place, saw one on a forest path maybe a hundred yards from my house in Gua Musang.

The strangest one was just a quick drive-by, on the highway to Ipoh. Way out in the middle of nowhere, and a passenger is off the back of a motorcycle being aggressively attacked by one. The guy sort of tries to run and dodge out of the way, eventually the pig decides not to kill the human, crosses the highway in front of my car and carries on . So many questions... why get off the bike? How did you get the pig so pissed off? Just off the charts WTF.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:02 PM on January 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

It sucks that all attempts at ecological management, even if they begin as science-based, seem to have the tendency to devolve into "eradicate this species".

But scientists are troublesome and expensive, exterminators less so
posted by eustatic at 8:31 PM on January 3, 2023

... in the short term.
posted by aniola at 9:12 PM on January 3, 2023

Pigs build nests

oh, on the ground
posted by ryanrs at 6:15 AM on January 4, 2023 [5 favorites]

I loved watching nesting behavior in really pregnant pigs. There’s a known gestational period, but sometimes it goes a little longer or shorter. But the day would come when a near-term sow would start acting restless, pacing, and start rearranging the straw. Like moving furniture until you’re happy with the placement. She’d snout some here, more over there, then flip down and become dissatisfied. More pacing, more readjustment. A reliable giveaway * that she knew she was near time.

* The most trustworthy sign, of course, is squeezing a teat to see if a drop of milk comes out. I recommend doing this reeeeally carefully.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:27 AM on January 4, 2023

This is fascinating! Thank you for the evening read, kind stranger!
posted by TheFerridge at 2:05 PM on January 4, 2023