Pigs For Kids - Paperback

by John Davidson (Author), Mendon Cottage Books (Editor), Rachel Smith (Author)

Table of Contents Introduction What is a pig? What kinds of pigs are there? Where did pigs come from? The history of pigs and humans Babirusas (also known as pig-deer) Pot-belled pigs Red river hogs Wild Boars Feral Pigs Peccaries Warthogs Conclusion Author Bio Publisher Introduction Pigs have long been a part of human life. The ancient Israelites considered them unclean animals, and would not eat them; however, many, many cultures consider them a great source of food. The pig is present in the Chinese zodiac, a way of keeping track of years by assigning twelve animals, one to each year. It's also said to predict traits and such about people born in those years. It's the twelfth sign, because, according to legend, the pig showed up last to the great meeting where the animals were assigned to a system. The pig has long been a sign of gluttony, especially in Western culture. In the book Animal Farm, they greedily consume the best of the food, and do almost none of the work. Pigs are considered dirty, but the fact is, they tend to be very clean animals. They do consume a lot of food, but not all pigs are fat; it's mostly domesticated (bred to serve humans) pigs that are as obese-looking as you see in the modern day.