i had always wandering,if animals have conscious of there own animality,i mean amid the more evolved vertebrea mammals,like cows,rats,pigs,dogs,cats,bears, etc as the homo sapiens have conscious of his "humanity" even some human don't deserve that name like the terrorists of ISIS for ex, you'll see we, homo sapiens, are just evolved monkeys,no more than that we have acquire a superior intelligence,but somewhere limited, and we are aware of our humanity,but what about a cat or a dog,does he conscious than he's a dog or a cat and than he belongs to the animal world,it's a quite metaphysical questionning i know, i mean we had made a lot of studies and some dogs are quite impressive of intelligence,even able to save your life,but aside these behavioral skills does he conscious than he's a dog? does he conscious of his own animality as a dog,somewhere i believe than it's a door than we could let half-open,but without serious studies,we aren't sure of anything,
pigs are quite intelligent too even more than you think it's humans who turn him into a filthy dumb animal but it's quite the contrary the domestic pig is very clean and smart and have an equivalent of the IQ of child of 3 and upper available to learn by observing,and they poop at 5 days age outside there living zone,even more smart than dogs
i have translate below a french article from a vegan site :
A domestic animal always wild
the domestic pig ("Sus scrofa domestica") is a subspecies of the wild pig or wild boar ("Sus scrofa"). Following successive selections for breeding, the appearance and physiology of domestic pigs differ somewhat from those of wild pigs, but both retain most of the same behavioural characteristics and can still breed among themselves.
Their favorite environment is the forest. Lively and curious nature are burrowing animals. Their highly developed sense of smell allows them to find their food in the undergrowth or grasslands. They like it varied, composed mostly of plants (Clover, roots, Acorns, tubers, berries, chestnuts...), mushrooms, as well as sometimes small animals (earthworms, snails, insects, small rodents...). They know how to adapt their diet perfectly to seasonal changes. They spend most of the day feeding, then resting. They can sleep up to 12 hours a day. Unlike humans or dogs, pigs never eat more than they need.
In nature, pigs can walk tens of kilometres a day. They are fast, can run up to 45 km / h and can swim very well. Read the extraordinary story of these pigs abandoned by a sailor on a desert island in the Bahamas (Big Major Cay) and who survive thanks to tourists !
Mr. Clean
Contrary to conventional wisdom, pigs are very clean animals : from the age of 5 days, the small ones make their needs outside their sleeping place. Before lying down somewhere, they check the cleanliness of their diapers and never lie there if the places are soiled. Food : they always eat away from their facilities. Yet they "roll in the mud", right ? In fact, pigs like to cover themselves with mud for two reasons: to protect their very fragile skin from both parasites and the sun, and to cool off. In fact they do not sweat ; in case of heavy heat they can still lower their body temperature by bathing in the mud. Nothing dirty in there !
The meaning of family
Pigs live in groups with a clear hierarchy and a lot of cooperation. Sows give birth to one litter of piglets per year. Before birth, the sow leaves the group and conscientiously builds a nest for her young with straw or plants. She will stay with them almost all the time for two weeks, except when she goes away to get food.
The bonds between the piglets are very strong. They communicate through a complex language of shouting, squeaking and grunting. After two weeks, the small family joins the group to form a large family with very intense social activity, where the little ones play among themselves and the mothers share the tasks.
Intelligence
Studies on pigs are numerous and the conclusions are all in the same direction : pigs are among the most intelligent animals on the planet, potentially far ahead of dogs !
Mirror my beautiful mirror. A team of researchers from the Centre for animal welfare in Cambridge, UK, led by Professor Broom, has shown the ability of pigs to recognize themselves in a mirror. Until then, pigs did not pay much attention to their reflection. Until the researchers came up with the idea of introducing food into the experiment ! They thus confronted eight pigs with their own reflection, with a bowl of food, visible in the reflection, installed behind a barrier. Seven of them managed to reach the bowl in less than 23 seconds, bypassing the obstacle, proving that they recognized themselves well in the mirror. For researchers, this test demonstrates " a certain degree of self-awareness."
A dirty trick. Experiments by researchers at the University of Bristol have shown that pigs use deception. To do this, researchers showed a first Pig where food was hiding. In a second stage, a second pig was introduced, and soon followed the first who knew where the food was hidden. Later, he pretended not to find her so he wouldn't be followed. He did not go for food until the other pig moved in another direction. This shows that pigs have an awareness of themselves, of others, and an ability to adapt their behaviour according to their surroundings (avoidance of a dominant male).
Geeks. To assess the cognitive abilities of pigs, Curtis and his team at Pennsylvania State University taught a number of individuals to play computer video games using joysticks adapted to their needs. They had to move the cursor over a screen to an icon in order to get a candy, with a growing degree of difficulty. The pigs passed all the tests, unlike the dogs. This has allowed researchers to study the images that pigs produce of their peers and of themselves, as well as their creativity and anticipation.
All of these researchers agree that pigs demonstrate undeniable problem-solving skills, high concentration and excellent memory.
Holy pigs
Pigs turn out to be very pleasant pets, if the size of your house allows it ! Very endearing and very attached to their master, some have even become heroes ! In 1984, Priscilla, a young tame sow, became famous in the United States for saving a child from drowning. In Wales, in 2000, a 4-month-old piglet named " Pru " (short for Prudence) saved her mistress by helping her with a rope to get out of the mud of a swamp in which she had become entangled. But the best-known example is certainly Lulu, a Vietnamese dwarf pig, who in 1999 saved his mistress ' life in Pittsburgh (USA).- U.). On a day when she suffered a heart attack and collapsed on the kitchen floor, Lulu left the house to seek help. He laid down on the road to draw attention until a car stopped, stopped. Lulu then led the driver to the house and his mistress was taken to the emergency room.