How do Pigs Protect Themselves from Predators?

Pigs are prey animals and it is natural for them to have several predators in the wild. Even under captivity, they may still attract and encounter predators when they are near wild areas. Curiosity asks us and we will answer for you!

How do pigs protect themselves from predators? Pigs rely on their speed most of the time to flee from predators. Wild or domesticated, a pig’s speed is their number one defense from any attacker.

Other than their speed, their secondary option is using their tusks which can both be a weapon and a shield. Unfortunately for domestic pigs, their tusks are often permanently removed because owners deem it serves no purpose for the pigs.

A pig’s third protection is their thick hides that will make it hard for predators to bite onto their flesh.

Apart from their physical abilities, pigs can also depend on their sense of hearing and excellent sense of smell.

We have a full article on their sense of smell that you can read here

Lastly, a pig’s intelligence can be their main weapon if not for their physical skills and their senses.

A pig ranks fourth among the most intelligent animals in the world which means they can easily outsmart predators!

A domesticated pig’s average lifespan is 15 to 20 years which is way longer than a wild boar’s lifespan of 4 to 8 years. This is due to a high mortality rate in the wild, but they can still manage better than most animals.

Pigs can be really amazing, but they are truly peaceful animals by default. It is in their nature. As much as possible, pigs, wild or not, would prefer to stay out of trouble.

They may sometimes have a mischievous spirit but it doesn’t mean they are bad. They are simply being playful and bad behavior in pigs can easily be corrected by basic disciplining tricks.

Known Enemies / Predators of Pigs

Pigs can be found in many different types of places because they are flexible creatures and thus they have different kinds of predators too.

We listed some of the most common predators known to pigs below.

Humans

Coyotes
Hyenas
Cougars

Grizzly Bears
Wolves
Dogs

Raccoons
Bobcats
Lions

Aside from land moving enemies, pigs can have uncommon flying predators in the wild as well.

Owls
Eagles

These large raptors can easily snatch young piglets and harm even fully grown pigs with their sharp claws and leave open wounds by pecking with their beaks.

Other rare predator(s) are also included below.

Snakes — usually do not hunt pigs as pigs can fight back and potentially kill them and be eaten instead. The breed “American Guinea Hog” is known to make dinners out of attacking snakes.

A Pig’s Survival Skills

Pigs have many ways of defending themselves and few ways to attack as they depend on foraging for food instead of hunting or killing other animals.

Everything that has been mentioned above will be explained in broad detail under this section.

A. Speed

Pigs can run fast and that may be surprising because of their large bodies and heavy weights, but it is a fact.

Domestic pigs can run as fast as 17 km/h while wild pigs can reach a speed of 30 km/h.

However, despite their fast speed, they can tire out really fast that is why they can only maintain their top speed for short distances.

The only way for predators to catch a fast pig is by cornering them with no point of escape or by tiring them out since pigs can run out of stamina easily after using up their full speed immediately.

The key to a pig’s survival in the wild is running fast enough and finding a good hiding spot where the predator cannot reach them anymore.

A.1 Animals that Pigs can Outrun

Domesticated pigs can only outrun a few certain animals apart from what will be further discussed below. They can outrun chickens and other slow animals.

But for wild pigs, they can outrun elephants, grizzly bears, black mamba snakes, race runner lizards, wild turkeys, cats and dogs.

B. Tusks

All pigs grow tusks regardless if they are wild or domestic and male or female. No matter the breed, they will grow tusks. The tusks usually appear or become visible around eighteen months of age.

For livestock or pet pigs, they usually get their tusks permanently removed in order not to pose future problems for their owners or themselves.

The tusks are connected to a pig’s jawbones and are considered part of the teeth. When removed, it does not grow back like what most people believe.

Female pigs often have shorter or smaller tusks and they don’t grow large enough to stick out of their mouth which is why it can be easier to identify a pig’s gender in the wild by looking at their tusks.

A tusk can mortally wound an animal or even a human if a pig is left with no choice and cornered, forcing them to attack or provoking them.

Learn more about how tusks affect pigs in this article here.

C. Thick Hide

Sometimes, the thickness of a pig’s hide may depend on their environment or location.

Still, having those thick hides can prevent predators such as snakes from easily biting onto their flesh and can help increase a pig’s survival rate in the wild.

Most domestic pigs have skin similar to human skin but it can still be difficult for attackers to pierce through the layers of fat within their body.

C.1 The Mud Theory

A personal theory related to pigs and mud.

It is also possible that perhaps, pigs also cover their bodies in mud in order to mask their presence in the wild. Pigs are intelligent animals and it won’t be surprising if they learned the art of disguising their scents.

Mud in the wild will be mixed with various scents which can easily confuse predators that rely on smell when hunting.

This can help increase a pig’s survivability and it is honestly pretty COOL if it is truly another purpose of mud for pigs!

Clarification: Pigs NEED mud in order to cool off because they do not have enough sweat glands that allow them to adjust their body temperature. Most of the time, pigs only have access to MUD which is why they choose mud.

Related article: Why do pigs need mud?

D. Sense of Hearing and Smell

Pigs are born with poor eyesight which can be truly a disadvantage for them, but they are compensated with a sensitive hearing and excellent sense of smell.

A pig’s snout is very sensitive to touch and they rely solely on their snouts to search for food. Pigs are great foragers thanks to these abilities.

Pigs can use their sense of hearing and smell to be alerted by a predator’s presence.

Humans have learned the art of hunting and know how to mask human scent by mixing their scent with natural scents a pig is familiar with.

However, humans cannot perfectly mask their sound which is why pigs can still escape in time the moment they hear something that would alarm them.

Prey animals, especially wild ones, often have their guard up since anytime they can be attacked by a predator. They will immediately use their speed to run away from attackers.

Their sense of smell can also help them remember the scent of predators. Many animal predators have a consistent scent that pigs pick up easily.

When a pig detects the scent of a predator, they will immediately leave the dangerous area.

E. Intelligence

Last but not the least, a pig’s intelligence.

No matter how gifted an animal or human being is, if they are not wise enough to make use of it, they will not be able to progress.

Pigs are smart enough to know how to utilize their skills.

They may have limited capabilities but they survive very well because they know how to outsmart predators.

They have impressive memories that allow them to remember different kind of information such as people, other animals, scents, dangerous places, safe places and food sources.

Pigs can also learn many things as fast as chimpanzees.

Read our 10 most interesting facts on Pig Intelligence

E.1 Lessons from a Prey

Prey animals need to be on alert more than predators and thus, may develop a more sensitive way of living. They need to be smarter than their swift and strong predators.

Pigs possibly learned to enhance their intelligence by adapting and learning how to outsmart their predators.

Predators do not have to be on guard most of the time, they are usually comfortable anywhere and don’t struggle as hard as a prey when searching for food.

I have a personal saying regarding this aspect in life. The poor may be poor, but they can definitely be wiser than the rich.

It’s because when you are always on edge, you become desperate to cling on for survival. While those who are at the top have it easy and tend to forget the meaning of challenges.

When life is hard, it teaches you to become strong. Even if they are prey animals, if their minds are strong, their chances of survivability will definitely increase.