They’re , sweaty, and lazy, right? WRONG! Read this Q&A to get the real dirt on .

1. What makes a feet are also pret- pig a pig? ty special. Look at the For starters, there’s that on the spotted snout. It’s big, strong, pig at right. It almost and flexible, with a looks as if it’s wearing great . high heels. Pigs have And it’s just right for four toes on each foot, sniffing out and dig- but they usually stand ging up tasty treats only on the tips of the underground. front two toes.

You 2. Are all pigs pink and - less? Many domestic INGO ARNDT/NATUREPL.COM pigs—the ones raised Think on farms—look pink (or spotted) and almost hairless. But wild pigs You come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The “Hog wash!” shaggy-maned, brown Know at top right has four warty bumps on its face. The at right has reddish and long, white whiskers on its cheeks. It’s hard to believe these two are Babe’s cousins! Pigs?by Hannah Schardt E. A. JANES/SUPERSTOCK > 6 JOHN DANIELS/ARDEA/ ANIMALS 7 3. How smart are calls you “pig-headed,” for that. You may have 5. Are pigs slow? pigs? Pretty smart! you can say, “Thanks.” heard the saying, “He Wild pigs are surpris- In fact, some scientists sweats like a pig.” Well, ingly speedy. They believe they are even 4. Are pigs dirty? pigs don’t sweat at all. have to be. In the wild, smarter than dogs. Pigs Pigs actually like to be So on hot days, they pigs sometimes have to can be trained to do clean. They’d rather not roll in mud to keep outrun predators such all sorts of tricks: jump sleep in dirty bedding, cool. Mud also makes as lions or leopards. At through hoops, use and they are careful a good sunscreen and top speed, the warthog mirrors to find food, to poop far away from insect repellent. (Try at right can run 30 and herd sheep. They where they eat. But as telling that to your miles an hour. That can even use joysticks you can see below, parents next time you might be faster than to play video games. So pigs do love mud. And come to the back door the speed limit in your the next time someone there are good reasons covered in mud!) neighborhood!

LYNN M. STONE/DRK PHOTO (8-9B); JOHN WARBURTON-LEE/DANITADELIMONT.COM (9TR); BILL DRAKER/ROLFNP.COM (9BR) Pig-tionary 6. Where do that later.) North and Just about are Pigheaded: Stubborn pigs live? everywhere! Domestic home to their own You can’t make a silk pigs are raised all over pig-like animals: three purse out of a sow’s the world. Wild pigs of ear: You can’t make live in , Asia, and something good out of (PEK-uh-ree). , bad materials. . They roam including the fuzzy throughout woodlands, below, Hog wild: Very excited swamps, grasslands— are not true pigs but even cities. (More on are close relatives. Putting lipstick on a pig: Making a small change to try to dis guise something -

8 9 FLORIAN MÖLLERS on where they live, pigs will also eat grass, Problem Pigs berries, acorns, cac- Wild pigs belong in the wild, and domestic tus, and animals such pigs belong on farms. But sometimes wild as snails and small pigs move into cities. And sometimes do- snakes. mestic pigs escape and become wild, or (FAIR-ul). Both can cause big problems. 8. What are pig The family at left lives in Berlin, families like? Germany. When boars in nearby forests fig- Mama pigs such as the ured out that they could find food and shelter wild boar below give in town, they moved right in. Some Berliners birth to several piglets enjoy their piggy neighbors. But the boars at a time—usually four tear up vegetable gardens, dig in lawns, and to six, and sometimes cause hundreds of traffic accidents each year. as many as fourteen! The first domestic pigs were brought to Even after the piglets hundreds of years ago. Since grow up, the females, then, many of them have escaped and be- called sows, often stay come wild. Now millions of feral pigs live in with their moms. Adult North America. They trample and dig up na- males, called boars, tive plants. Their rooting also tears up the soil. leave to hang out on And they are such big eaters that sometimes their own. = they don’t leave enough food for other wild animals to survive.

ANDY ROUSE/2020 VISION/NATUREPL.COM (10T); PETE OXFORD/MINDEN PICTURES (10-11B)

7. What do pigs “pig out” on? Pigs are built for - ing, or digging in the earth with their snouts for underground food. Meals of mushrooms, worms, and grubs make for a dirty snout (above). Depending

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