WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue University animal researcher says even she was surprised by the results of a study that showed just how smart pigs are.
"I was in shock and awe, just like everybody else who has seen it and been delighted to see that they could do this," said Dr. Candace Croney, Professor of Animal Behavior and Well-being at Purdue University. Croney is also the Director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science.
"I didn't think they could do it," Croney said.
Essentially, the pigs learned to play a video game — and did pretty well.
"I was just floored," Croney said.
The study, just published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, involved two Yorkshire pigs and two Panepinto micro pigs, named Hamelet, Omelet, Ebony and Ivory. Each learned to use a joystick with their snout that connected to a cursor on a computer screen.
The pigs learned to move the cursor to specific targets using the joy stick. If they hit the target, the computer would make a sound and dispense a treat.
If the pig passed one level, a more challenging level would follow. The targets were randomly generated.
"All the pigs performed over the 'chance' level of success," Croney said. "So, there really is learning there. It's not guess work."
Croney said she and her colleagues are now looking into how to learn even more about them.
"How much more could they tell us about what they understand, what they learn, what they remember and how that information matters to them?" Croney said.
This study was funded by the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station, in addition to grants provided by USDA Cooperative Agreement, Genex, the National Pork Producers Council; and the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council.