Pigs have a reputation for loving their food, and I can tell you from experience that it’s justified — our pigs love to eat! Thanks to a paper published in this month’s Animal Behavior and reported by WIRED, maybe they’ll also get a reputation for the unusually clever way in which they are capable of finding that food.
The paper, co-authored by animal behavior expert Donald Bloom of the University of Cambridge, relates his investigation of how pigs use mirrors. Observing mirror use is one way scientists evaluate the cognitive processing abilities of animals, and species that have been shown to use mirrors effectively include some primates, dolphins and elephants.
In the Cambridge study, researchers placed a mirror in a pen with eight pigs for five hours. The pigs spent time looking at their reflections and shifting position to see themselves from different angles, behavior that indicates an understanding of the relationship between their own movements and those of their reflections. Then the pigs were placed in a new pen that contained both a mirror and a hidden food bowl. Seven of the eight found the reflection of the bowl in the mirror and then headed straight for the correct location of the actual bowl, applying deduction to what they observed and remembered about their environment and their own actions. The performance of these pigs suggests something scientists call "assessment awareness" and also provides evidence of self-awareness.
This and many other studies lend the authority of the scientific method to a truth that those of us who work closely with pigs have known since our first acquaintance with the creatures: A pig knows who she is; she knows what she likes; and she’s pretty darn smart about getting it.
Take for instance the way pigs react to their regular health checks here at the sanctuary. These checks involve hoof and tusk trimming, and the pigs are not fans. When they see the tell tales signs of health checks — the healthcare kit, halter, clip board, and a crew of caregivers — a few of the more bashful pigs head immediately for the far reaches of the pastures.
This time of year we also have apples in large tubs in the tack area of the pig barn. People come and go throughout the day with no reaction from the pigs, but when a certain pal of theirs arrives at the barn, the mere sound of her voice gets everyone up and active, knowing that the apples will most likely be distributed. They are amazingly wise. I could go on and on and list so many examples of their intelligence, but this is a blog and not a novel, so I will save them for the next time I react to a study.
I hope that, as science continues to provide more evidence of the intelligence and emotions of farm animals, more people will be inspired to take a look in the mirror and examine how their own choices are affecting these creatures with whom we share such kinship. Professor Bloom hits the nail on the head in discussing the significance of his paper: "If an animal is [perceived as] clever, it is less likely to be treated as if it is an object or a machine to produce food, and more likely to be considered as an individual of value in itself."
We at Farm Sanctuary are privileged to know many of these individuals personally. We know that coming face-to-face with a pig can feel like looking in a mirror because of the way she returns your gaze. A pig looks you right in the eye, with startling clarity, with cognizance, with recognition.