Thread by @ZoologiMY

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Even though babi is HARAM (congratulations to Hael, Dayang & the haram team for AJL33), but did you know that 🐗 were the first animals to be domesticated.

Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BP in the Near East in the Tigris Basin, modern day-Turkey.

Enteledonts were pig like creatures that existed during Miocene period, around 16.3 million years ago. Sometimes they are called terminator pigs or hell pigs as they would have weighed around 1,000 pounds, stood up to 7 ft tall at the shoulder and had multiple sets of teeth.

Pigs were reported to be used in ancient warfare tactics. Alexander the Great reportedly used pigs as a counter attack to elephants, since elephants were terrified of a pig’s loud squeals. Pigs have also been used for their keen sense of smell to source out buried land mines.

A pig's squeal can be as loud as 115 decibels – that’s like sound of chainsaw & loud music sound.

#PSA Continuous sounds of 85 decibels or higher are considered hazardous.

Pigs communicate constantly with each other, and more than 20 different vocalisations have been identified - like from woot woot wooing a mate to saying babe "I’m hungry!"

Think that pigs are slow and lumbering? As it turns out, they’re not at all! Adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11mph, or in other words, they can run a seven-minute mile. Could you do any better?

If you’ve ever suggested that someone was ‘sweating like a pig’, then you’d be wrong. Pigs have hardly any sweat glands, and one of the best ways for them to cool down is to wallow in the mud.

“KAU MAKAN MACAM BABI!” Where sweating may be false, this one is absolutely true! Pigs are gorge feeders, which means when left to their own foraging they will eat until they are stuffed. They also are indiscriminate eaters, eating both meat & forage combined.

Pigs need glasses. Their eyesight is among the poorest of the barnyard species, but they have one of the most powerful noses. In France, pigs are used to search for truffles due to their keen sense of smell. 🐽🐽🐽

Pigs are one of the smartest animals on the planet. Their intelligence ranks higher than dogs and even some primates *ehem hooman*. When they are trained, piglets can learn their names by 2 to 3 weeks of age and respond when called a& can learn tricks faster than dogs.

Pigs are very social animals. They form close bonds with each other & other species and some like to cuddle up close, especially at low temperatures.

And finally, we’ve all seen pigs wallowing in the mud, but how about swimming in a crystal clear sea? On the uninhabited Bahaman Island of Big Major Cay, that’s exactly what they do. A population of wild aquatic swine rules the island. #POWERPIGS