Despite their reputation, pigs are not dirty animals. They’re actually quite clean. The pig’s reputation as a filthy animal comes from its habit of rolling in mud to cool off. Pigs that live in cool, covered environments stay very clean.
Pigs are also known as hogs or swine. Male pigs of any age are called boars; female pigs are called sows. Pigs are found and raised all over the world, and provide valuable products to humans, including pork, lard, leather, glue, fertilizer, and a variety of medicines. Most pigs raised in the United States are classified as meat-type pigs, as they produce more lean meat than lard, a fat used in cooking.
Sows give birth to a litter of young called piglets. They usually nurse the piglets for three to five weeks. Piglets weaned off their mother’s milk are not called piglets but are referred to as shoats.
