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Pigs Facts & Worksheets

A pig is a four-legged, even-toed mammal that is social and intelligent. They originally come from Eurasia and Africa.

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A pig is a four-legged, even-toed mammal that is social and intelligent. They originally come from Eurasia and Africa. The domestic pig has one of the largest mammal populations in the world.

See the fact file below for more information on the pigs or alternatively, you can download our 24-page Pigs worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ETYMOLOGY

  • The word pig may be related to the Low German word “bigge” and the Dutch word “big”.
  • It may have also come from the Proto-Indo-European word “perk” which means “dig”.
  • Sow is the term for a female pig.
  • Young pigs are called piglets.
  • A group of piglets is called a litter, a drift, or a drove.
  • A group of pigs may be called a sounder of swine or a team of hogs.
  • The adjectival form for pigs is porcine or suine.
  • Wild pigs are called boars.

TAXONOMY

  • Pigs belong to the kingdom Animalia, the phylum Chordata, the class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Suidae, subfamily Suinae, and genus Sus.
  • The wild ancestor of pigs is believed to be the boar.

LOCATION & HABITAT

  • Wild boars are some of the most numerous large mammals in the world.
  • The wild boar has evolved into many subspecies in islands like Indonesia and the Philippines, like warty pigs and bearded pigs.
  • Wild boars are not picky in terms of habitat as long as they are provided sufficient water.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

  • Typically, pigs have large heads with long snouts.
  • Pigs have an extraordinary sense of smell.
  • A pig uses its snout to forage for food and to sense their environment.
  • The lungs of pigs are small compared to their big body size.
  • Pigs walk on only two toes on each foot even though they have 4 toes on each foot. Pigs don’t have a lot of sweat glands, which is why they wallow in mud to cool off because they can’t release much body heat otherwise.
  • The short, coarse hairs of the pig are called bristles.
  • It was common to use pigs’ bristles in paint brushes before. Pigs have 15,000 taste buds.
  • A pig usually drinks up to 14 gallons of water a day.
  • Contrary to the phrase “pig out,” pigs actually eat slowly so as to savor their food.

ECOLOGY & DIET

  • Pigs are actually some of the most social and intelligent animals.
  • Pigs are some of the oldest domesticated animals, having been domesticated more than 9000 years ago.
  • China and the US are the top two countries with the most domesticated pigs.
  • Pigs rarely show aggression, except when their piglets are threatened.
  • There are approximately 2 billion pigs on earth.
  • Pigs are omnivores like humans, meaning they eat plants and animals.
  • In the wild, pigs forage for leaves, fruits, flowers, roots.
  • They also feed on insects and fish.
  • Pigs as livestock are fed soybean meal and corn.
  • Livestock are also given vitamins and minerals through their diet.
  • Mortgage lifters are dairy farms on which pigs are raised.
  • Wild boars are important in maintaining biodiversity in an ecosystem.
  • Feral pigs disperse seeds of fruit plants and disturb the soil through which new plants emerge.

RELATIONSHIP WITH PEOPLE & OTHER FACTS

  • Pigs can be kept as pets by people.
  • People also farm pigs for meat.
  • Pork, bacon, and ham are the types of meat we get from pigs.
  • Feral pigs that have recently moved into a new area can threaten that local ecosystem, especially farmlands and other wildlife.
  • Wild boars may bring diseases to other domesticated animals.
  • Wild boars are hunted down by people and wild animals, like tigers.
  • Pigs prefer to sleep close to one another, and sometimes, nose to nose.
  • Pigs love to play, explore, and bathe in the sun.
  • Pigs love to wallow in mud not just because it’s leisurely but it helps them maintain their body temperature and not overheat.
  • Pigs may also be trained to do tricks.
  • Pigs that are newly born into the world learn to recognize their mother’s voice.
  • Mother pigs nurse their young and also sing to them.
  • All continents except Antarctica have populations of pigs.
  • People commonly stored their money in jars called “pygg” in the 13th to 15th centuries. Through time, the pygg was called pig and that’s how the piggy bank came to be.
  • The pig is the last animal in the Chinese zodiac and symbolizes fortune and happiness.
  • Pigs are symbols for good luck in Germany.

FOOD & HEALTHCARE

  • For food, the common cuts of a pig are as follows:
    • Ham, from the lower part of the pig’s shoulder.
    • Bacon, from the pig’s belly.
    • Pork loin and baby back ribs, from the pig’s back.
    • Pork chop, from the loin.
  • For healthcare and medical research, pig skin has been used in a lot of studies because it is similar to human skin.

Pigs Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the pigs across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Pigs worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about a pig which is a four-legged, even-toed mammal that is social and intelligent. They originally come from Eurasia and Africa. The domestic pig has one of the largest mammal populations in the world.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Pigs Facts
  • Is it True?
  • Spot The Live Pigs
  • A Pig’s Parts
  • Oink or False
  • Animal Differences
  • Age Matters
  • Pork Labels
  • The Three Little Pigs
  • Answer Hunt
  • Poem About Pigs

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Link will appear as Pigs Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 17, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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