![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/new-research-reveals-pigs-love-to-save-each-others-bacon/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1667867206837.jpg&description=Pigs save each other's bacon, a study has found - with bystanders intervening to break up fights. Researchers have shown that when conflict arises and two pigs get down and dirty in the sty, a third pig will appear to smooth over the problems. The study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, provides yet more insight into the complexities of pig society - demonstrating that they have sophisticated conflict resolution strategies. There are many reasons why pigs might argue. But, more often than not, it's about control over the two key resources in pig society - food and muck, said Ivan Norscia, from Turin University. "For example, it could be about access to a nice shady spot in the mud," he said. READ MORE: * Stuck pig becomes pulled pork as team of firefighters come to the rescue * 'Ruthless', hungry wild pigs take newborn lambs - farmer * 'There are pigs running on the street': Mystery pigs have swine old time in city * Do some pigs have an optimistic outlook? British researchers say yes Pascal Debrunner/UnsplashResearchers have shown that when conflict arises and two pigs get down and dirty in the sty, a third pig will appear to smooth over the problems. With such a prize at stake, it is hardly surprising that conflicts can be vicious. Fights generally involve behaviour such as knocking heads, pushing, biting and lifting each other up. But Norscia, a self-confessed pig fan, said that he suspected more complex interactions would be going on, and that they were seeing more than mere mud wrestling. Pigs, like humans, fight. And like humans, they also have to find ways to resolve conflict. With his colleague, Giada Cordoni, Norscia spent hours observing the lives of 104 free range pigs at Parva Domus, a farm in Italy. They carefully recorded what happened during and after fights. One of their earliest findings was that pigs appeared to make up afterwards. Once they had calmed down, both the victim and the aggressor would initiate reconciliation by the pigs rubbi){kind=link}
Pigs save each other’s bacon, a study has found – with bystanders intervening to break up fights.
Researchers have shown that when conflict arises and two pigs get down and dirty in the sty, a third pig will appear to smooth over the problems.
The study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, provides yet more insight into the complexities of pig society – demonstrating that they have sophisticated conflict resolution strategies.
There are many reasons why pigs might argue. But, more often than not, it’s about control over the two key resources in pig society – food and muck, said Ivan Norscia, from Turin University. “For example, it could be about access to a nice shady spot in the mud,” he said.
With such a