Common name: Domestic Pig
Scientific name: Sus scrofa domesticus
Conservation Status: Not Listed | Domestic
At the zoo: Daisy (female, 10y) Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig; Harriet (female, 6y) Yucatan pig; you'll find them beside the capybara towards the centre of the zoo (in the winter they are moved to an off-display heated enclosure).
Habitat:
Pot-bellied pigs and Yucatan pigs are domesticated species and are right at home on a nice farm (preferably a muddy farm!)
Diet:
They enjoy a wide variety of food including grasses, fruits, veggies, eggs, frogs, snakes, fish, insects, invertebrates.
Life Expectancy:
15 years
Biology:
Domesticated in southeast Asia, the pot-bellied pig can trace its ancestry to a small wild pig that roamed the mountains of southern Vietnam. On the other hand, Yucatan pigs are descendants of domesticated pigs introduced to the Mayans 500 years ago, during Spanish colonization, where they adapted well to the environment and were farmed for food. Domestic pigs are omnivores that have adapted to eat a wide variety of food. They use their strong snouts to dig up roots and grubs, and love to wallow in mud to keep cool and protect their skin from the sun and insects. There was a large pot-bellied pig craze in the 90s that greatly increased the numbers of pot-bellies and other miniature pig breeds in the Americas.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that pigs communicate with a variety of squeaks, grunts, huffs, and squeals?
