How does the pig survive?

[gib65]

I understand that the pig survives easily because it is under the providence of a farmer (or some human care giver). But was this always the case? Did the pig evolve on the farm? There must have been a time when the pig had to live off the land, to fend for itself in the wild? But just look at the pig? What features does it have to survive and defend itself? It has no claws, it can't run very fast, it has no fangs, it can't climb trees, it has no warm fur coat, it doesn't camouflage very well, etc. How did it ever survive the menaces of the natural world?

[Psycho]

They from the wild bore and other sources, wild bores still live in the wild now.

 

It is an example of genetic modification by cross breeding certain individuals with the favoured alleles to gain "better" progeny.

[Daecon]

How about the sheep when there weren't any humans to sheer them?

[D H]

There are many examples of disadvantageous traits that humanity has bred into plants and animals. Just a couple: grain and dogs. Non-shattering grain is an extremely disadvantageous trait for a wild grain but an extremely advantageous trait for domesticated grains. Corn (maize) as it exists could not survive without human intervention. Dogs are essentially wolves with arrested physical, emotional, and mental development. Little dogs, even more so. Not a particularly good trait for life in the wild, but a great one for purposes of domestication.

[Daecon]

So you could argue that humanity has bred various lifeforms into a pseudo-symbiotic relationship with itself?

 

How... clever.

[DrDNA]

Wild bores can definitely fend for themselves. And even a domestic pig gone feral is one mean hombre. You don't want to mess with it. It can take care of itself. Believe me. And its hair grows longer when it goes feral. It really changes dramatically.

 

Also, domestic turkeys are so dumb that, when it rains, they look up and drown. Yet a wild turkey (besides being an excellent burbon), is one of the sharpest creatures out there. Very difficult to sneak up on and kill in the wild.

[gib65]

They from the wild bore and other sources, wild bores still live in the wild now.

 

It is an example of genetic modification by cross breeding certain individuals with the favoured alleles to gain "better" progeny.

 

Ah, so they did evolve on the farm.

 

Dogs are essentially wolves with arrested physical, emotional, and mental development.

 

So they're "retarded" wolves?

[NeonBlack]

Wild boars have tusks, they're mean as hell and they'll eat just about anything.

There are a lot of awesome examples here of how dramatically domestication can change a species (both plant and animal) in a short period of time.

[thedarkshade]

It would have been a wild pig then. And in colonies the survival it's not a hard thing!

 

You were not thinking of leaving the pig alone were you?

[CDarwin]

I feel I should note that domesticated hogs themselves can do quite well in the wild on their own. In the southern Appalachia, pigs would be allowed to wander the countryside and feed themselves, and not only did they do just fine (until they were hunted down and baconized, of course), many escaped and formed wild populations.

 

You shouldn't think of "pig" as just being the big, fat, pink things we have now. Those are a relatively recent innovation even within the course of domestication. The pigs that were first brought to America, for example, were much smaller, furrier, and meaner.

[bombus]

They from the wild bore and other sources, wild bores still live in the wild now.

 

Wild bore? Are we talking about Pete Doherty?

[tvp45]

Domestic swine are not always cute and cuddly. They will readily kill and eat small animals and, if provoked, attack humans. Both their teeth and hooves are pretty lethal.