Like humans, pigs are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals.
A pig's snout is an important tool for finding food in the ground and sensing the world around them.
Pigs have an excellent sense of smell.
There are around 2 billion pigs in the world.
Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers’ voices, and can recognize their own names by the time they’re 2 weeks old. Sows have even been known to sing to their young whilst nursing.
Think that pigs are slow and lumbering? As it turns out, they’re not at all! Adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11mph, or in other words, they can run a seven-minute mile. Could you do any better?
A pig's squeal can be as loud as 115 decibels – that’s 3 decibels higher than the sound of a supersonic airliner.
And when they’re not squealing, they’re talking. Pigs communicate constantly with each other, and more than 20 different vocalisations have been identified; from wooing a mate to saying ‘I’m hungry!”
And dreaming isn’t the only way in which pigs are similar to humans – their genetic makeup is also very close to our own. Because of this, stem cells from pigs are being used by scientists to research cures for human diseases. To track the cells once they’ve been injected, Chinese geneticists have crossed a pig with a jellyfish, producing piglets whose tongues and trotters glow fluorescent green in UV light.
The perfect gift for animal lovers, why not adopt a Pig
Animal adoption is a great way to support Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary, lasts all year and makes for a lovely treat or gift. Treat yourself or buy as a gift for the animal lover in your life.
At Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary we have Kune Kune Pigs. All have been rescued within the UK.
Hello! Our names are Cabbage and Spanner and we are Kunekune pigs. We came to the Sanctuary on the 29th of November 2011 when we were rescued from a trip to the slaughterhouse.
Our ancestors came from New Zealand where we were kept originally by the Maoris and the name Kunekune is Maori for fat and round. No one really knows how we got to New Zealand because there are no indigenous land animals in New Zealand. It is possible the Maoris brought us because pigs are very important to the Polynesians. Maybe the early whalers and farmers brought us. I do know that in the 1970s we came very close to becoming extinct. Two wildlife park owners prevented this from happening.
In 1992 Kunekune pigs first came to Britain. So it could be said that we are rather special.
We weigh 120 kilos and are around 76 centimetres tall. We like to live outdoors as long as we have a shelter with a thick bed of straw which we keep very clean. All pigs are very clean animals.
Kunekune pigs can survive on grazing and do very little foraging which is why we do not dig up the ground. Here at the Sanctuary we are given lots of fruit to eat and some rolled barley. We are vegetarians and must never be given anything that has any meat or meat by product in its ingredients.
The sanctuary rescues and provides a home for many types of unwanted animals, especially primates, such as chimpanzees, gibbons, baboons, spider monkeys, vervets, capuchins, tamarins, macaques and marmosets.
Although we specialise in the care and protection of primates we cannot stand by and see other animals in need of help. You will therefore find meerkats, wolf dogs, horses, donkeys, pigs and others at our sanctuary. All are equally important members of our extended family.
DOWNLOAD FARM ANIMAL BOOKLET
Ticket Prices
TICKET PRICES
