In the latest issue of "animal behavior" (Animal Behaviour) in the journal, the researchers provide favorable evidence that pigs can quickly understand the working principle of the mirror, and the mirror reflection function to observe the surroundings, find food. However, researchers are still not sure whether pigs realized they are the mirror in the mirror, and whether pigs with apes, dolphins and other have been through the "mirror self recognition test (mirror self-recognition test)" species can also have a sense of self and high iq.
Pigs can be used in the mirror this finding is only one of the recent findings of a series of studies on the cognitive ability of pigs. Other researchers also confirmed that pigs have outstanding performance in memory of food storage and the connection between each storage point. They showed the following experiments: when the pig A aware of the pig B know where food is stored, the pig A will soon realize that following the pig B. The pig A will try to get rid of the pig B so that they can be at ease with the food.
University of Bristol (University of Bristol the) Suzanne Held (Held Suzanne) said that they also found that pigs can quickly learn a new rule. For example, the pig will all show circus tricks: jump ring, sheep, rotation, using a joystick to play video games and so on, which indicates that the pig is hard to forget. "They can learn in the first place, but it is difficult to forget what they have learned. Once they are frightened, it will be difficult for them to overcome the psychological shadow."
Last week, a team of biologists from the international research group released the first pig genome. One of the chief research group, University of Illinois (the University of Illinois) Lawrence Skuk (Lawrence Schook) said, although only a rough glance, "but the pig genome is better than the human genome. In many sections, there is a similar integrity." Looking forward to know some special schuck physiology and behavior between pig and human similarity are in their respective genomes reflect. He said that the heart of pigs and people's heart is similar, the teeth are similar to ours, the pig likes to lie everywhere, if they have such a chance, I believe they will also like to drink and watch tv."
Dr. Bourne (Byrne Dr.) said, although in captivity, but the pig still retains many of their ancestors of the wisdom of the wild. He put the wisdom of pigs in the form of evolutionary pressure on them, such as the food of social life. "Boar long-term social life, through the same kind of tracking, to better avoid the enemy's prey."
University of Cambridge, Donald (M. Broom Donald) and his colleagues decided to test whether there is also the existence of the so-called self assessment of the awareness of pigs. They picked 4 pigs from 7 to 8 weeks old, and let them stay with a mirror for 5 hours, and watch their reactions. These pigs obviously on the mirror is crazy, with the nose kept arch mirror, from shilly-shally, low call, a little bit closer, finally lying comfortably in the mirror and see them in the mirror image from different angles. A day later the pigs were less enthusiastic about the mirror.
Next, the researchers put the mirror in a clear position, and then put a bowl of food is not directly visible, but can be seen in the mirror image of the place. They want to see the difference between a pig in a mirror and a pair of pigs in a mirror and a stranger in the mirror. Pigs with an average of 23 seconds to find real food, and those who have no experience of the pig is the mirror of the food seriously, but around the mirror to find food.