Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain

[groovedaddy]

We’ve all heard the story of the third Little Pig, who foiled the hyperventilating wolf by building his house out of bricks, rather than with straw or sticks as his brothers had done. Less commonly known is that the pig later improved his home’s safety profile by installing convex security mirrors at key points along the driveway.

Well, why not? In the current issue of Animal Behaviour, researchers present evidence that domestic pigs can quickly learn how mirrors work and will use their understanding of reflected images to scope out their surroundings and find their food. The researchers cannot yet say whether the animals realize that the eyes in the mirror are their own, or whether pigs might rank with apes, dolphins and other species that have passed the famed “mirror self-recognition test” thought to be a marker of self-awareness and advanced intelligence.

To which I say, big squeal. Why should the pigs waste precious mirror time inspecting their teeth or straightening the hairs on their chinny-chin-chins, when they could be using the mirror as a tool to find a far prettier sight, the pig heaven that comes in a bowl?

The finding is just one in a series of recent discoveries from the nascent study of pig cognition. Other researchers have found that pigs are brilliant at remembering where food stores are cached and how big each stash is relative to the rest. They’ve shown that Pig A can almost instantly learn to follow Pig B when the second pig shows signs of knowing where good food is stored, and that Pig B will try to deceive the pursuing pig and throw it off the trail so that Pig B can hog its food in peace.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10angier.html?th&emc=th

[TwilightGardener]

1. Pigs are so smart. I feel bad for eating them--wish they weren't so damn tasty.

[ginnyinWI]

5. that's why I don't eat them.

I stopped eating pork in I think it was 1996? It's very possible to do it. There is always turkey bacon or sausage, or veggie substitutes.

For me it was that a)they are as smart as dogs and b)the farming of pigs is terrible for the environment.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Yes--their intelligence AND their living conditions really make me feel bad about it.

But there's no substitute for a big 'ol Christmas ham. The internal conflict continues...

[ginnyinWI]

11. have you tried turkey ham?

might be worth a look (and a taste).

[yellowcanine]

2. But do they use the mirror to apply lipstick?

[virgogal]

3. Miss Piggy would be proud.

[Angry Dragon]

4. Animals have souls, you know...........

[Craftsman]

7. Smart or not they are still tasty, pork chops tonight!!!

[pokerfan]

8. That's impressive

Chimpanzee faced with the mirror test:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaFO6LpnuWs#t=2m05s

[corpseratemedia]

9. Pigs may be smart, and delicious, but my dogs are very discerning when it comes

to figuring out potential-thrown-away-ham-sandwich spots on our walking trail.:P

[sinkingfeeling]

10. I've known that for decades. Raised on a hog farm and had over 250 head of my own while in

high school. They're much smarter than dogs.