Pigs

A pig is an omnivorous, domesticated, and hoofed mammal belonging to the genus Sus. They often have sparse and bristly hair covering their entire body, as well as a flat snout that the animals use for rooting in the soil. Pigs are mostly kept for their meat. The pig family is believed to have descended from the wild boar and was domesticated by early man over eight thousand years ago. They are also believed to be highly social and intelligent animals. The complete scientific classification of the pig is as follows: Kingdom – Animalia, Phylum – Chordata, Class – Mammalia, Subclass – Theria, Infraclass – Eutheria, Order – Artiodactyla, Family – Suidae, Subfamily – Suinae, Genus – Sus. The domesticated pig belongs in the list of the largest mammal populations in the world—there are roughly two billion individuals alive in the whole world at any time. Aside from being raised for pork (and its popular products, ham, gammon, and bacon), pigs are also a source of leather. The bristly hair covering their bodies can also be used for brushes. However, there are some breeds of pig—such as the pot-bellied pig—are popular as pets. In some parts of Europe, pigs are used to find truffles because of their foraging abilities and keen sense of smell. Pigs are omnivores—they eat both plants and animal meat. Wild pigs are commonly foraging animals; they often eat grasses, leaves, roots, and flowers. Domesticated pigs, on the other hand, are fed by their human masters a different diet, including corn and soybean meal, which are fortified by a mixture of vitamins and minerals. There are ten living species belonging to the genus of Sus, and a good number of extinct species that are studied as fossils. This category contains scientific information on pigs, which are even-toed ungulate animals belonging to the genus Sus.