Does the Domestication Syndrome Apply to the Domestic Pig? Not Completely.

ABSTRACT: The 'domestication syndrome' defines a suite of features that domesticated animals possess as the result of the artificial selection operated by Homo sapiens since the Neolithic. An interesting anthropological question is whether such features, including increased tameness and reduced aggression, apply to all domesticated forms. We investigated this issue in the domestic pig (Sus scrofa). We video-recorded and analysed aggression and social play (mostly play-fighting) sessions from piglets (three litters; n = 24) and wild boar hybrids (domestic pig mother x wild boar father; three litters; n = 27) from 6-50 days of age, raised in the same woodland/grassland habitat and extensive farming management (ethical farm 'Parva Domus', Cavagnolo, Torino). Play and aggression session st

SUBMITTER: Collarini E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9495052 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature