# Pigs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 11, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300 "2006-05-11T00:34:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/1 "2006-05-11T00:34:51Z")
Do pigs hibernate and are they related to the bear family? Are the true omnivores?
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/2 "2006-05-11T00:45:02Z")
> [@vpriest](#):
>
> Do pigs hibernate and are they related to the bear family? Are the true omnivores?
No, they don’t hibernate; taxonomically, they are about as closely related to bears as we are - they are in the same class (mammals), but are in different orders, and yes, they are omnivores.
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### Author:  [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/3 "2006-05-11T05:48:44Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> taxonomically, they are about as closely related to bears as we are
Actually, bears share a more recent common ancestor with pigs than we do. So, technically, pigs are more closely related to bears than either is to us.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/4 "2006-05-11T08:14:49Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#):
>
> Actually, bears share a more recent common ancestor with pigs than we do. So, technically, pigs are more closely related to bears than either is to us.
Fair enough; I’ll stand correctged, however, I think it’s probably still fair to say that in everyday terms, we probably wouldn’t say ‘bears and pigs are related’; that sort of expression tend to be used for things like wolves and foxes, or carrots and celery.
However, of course, if you’re prepared to go far enough up the tree, _any species_ on Earth is related to _any other_, ultimately.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/5 "2006-05-11T15:36:35Z")
> [@vpriest](#):
>
> Do pigs hibernate and are they related to the bear family? Are the true omnivores?
I’m curious what prompted this question. Why pigs vs bears, and not some other animal? Do you really think that a domesticated animal would hibernate?
Just FYI, bears belong to the order \*Carnivora \*which includes animals like dogs, cats, hyenas, otters and seals. Pigs belong to the order \*Artiodactyla \*(even-toed ungulates) which includes animals like hippos, camels, sheep and goats.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/6 "2006-05-11T15:56:18Z")
> [@John Mace](#):
>
> I’m curious what prompted this question. Why pigs vs bears, and not some other animal? Do you really think that a domesticated animal would hibernate?
Hamsters are domesticated, and they hibernate.
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/7 "2006-05-11T16:10:00Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#):
>
> Actually, [bears](http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/buena_vista_home_entertainment/the_muppet_show___season_one/_group_photos/fozzie_bear6.jpg) share a more recent common ancestor with [pigs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/TV_the_muppet_show_miss_piggy.jpg/250px-TV_the_muppet_show_miss_piggy.jpg)
Frank Oz? 🙂
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### Author:  [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/8 "2006-05-11T16:55:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> Fair enough; I’ll stand correctged, however, I think it’s probably still fair to say that in everyday terms, we probably wouldn’t say ‘bears and pigs are related’; that sort of expression tend to be used for things like wolves and foxes, or carrots and celery.
I don’t speak in everyday terms when it comes to issues taxanomical 😛
At any rate, yes, it is true that that bears and pigs are certainly not one another’s _closest_ relatives, or even that they are all that _closely_ (depending on one’s particular definition of “closely”) related. I was merely commenting on your suggestion that they were about as far from each other as they are to us.
> [@](#):
>
> However, of course, if you’re prepared to go far enough up the tree, _any species_ on Earth is related to _any other_, ultimately.
That is a given. Given any three species, however, two of them will very likely be more closely related than either is to the third. I would suspect that true cladistic trichotomies are pretty rare, assuming they exist at all.
> [@Thudlow Boink](#):
>
> Frank Oz? 🙂
Of course, the Frank OZ clade would also include frogs, eagles, dogs, chickens, and who knows what else!
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/9 "2006-05-11T16:57:02Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> No, they don’t hibernate; taxonomically, they are about as closely related to bears as we are - they are in the same class (mammals), but are in different orders, and yes, they are omnivores.
**Mangetout** , judging by his name, is uniquely qualified to discuss omnivores.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/10 "2006-05-11T18:00:15Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#):
>
> Hamsters are domesticated, and they hibernate.
They don’t actually hibernate, but they can go into torpor, which is often mistaken for true hibernation. But I don’t think hamsters can be considered domsticated in the usual sense of the term anyway. Taking a wild animal and putting it into a cage does not creat a demosticated animal.
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### Author:  [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/11 "2006-05-11T18:05:19Z")
> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> [T]hat sort of expression tend to be used for things like wolves and foxes, or carrots and celery.
I’d just like to interject here that I had no idea until now that carrots and celery were related. Hurrah for fighting ignorance!
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/12 "2006-05-11T18:14:45Z")
> [@John Mace](#):
>
> They don’t actually hibernate, but they can go into torpor, which is often mistaken for true hibernation.
I thought only cold blooded animals go into torpor, and that what happened to hamsters (and some other rodents as well as some non-rodents) was true hibernation.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/13 "2006-05-11T18:38:06Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#):
>
> I thought only cold blooded animals go into torpor, and that what happened to hamsters (and some other rodents as well as some non-rodents) was true hibernation.
No. [Torpor.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpor)
“Cold blooded” and “warm blooded” are not used since there really isn’t a clear line between one and the other.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/14 "2006-05-11T20:03:08Z")
> [@MikeS](#):
>
> I’d just like to interject here that I had no idea until now that carrots and celery were related. Hurrah for fighting ignorance!
Glad to be of service; for the record, carrots and celery are both members of the family Umbelliferae; along with parsnips, plus quite a few aromatic herbs/spices such as parsley, coriander, fennel, dill and caraway, not to mention angelica and hemlock (don’t get those last two mixed up).
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### Author:  [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/15 "2006-05-11T22:01:21Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#):
>
> Of course, the Frank OZ clade would also include frogs, eagles, dogs, chickens, and who knows what else!
Uh oh. How closely are we related to _Gonzo_?
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### Author:  [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/16 "2006-05-11T23:16:28Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#):
>
> Actually, bears share a more recent common ancestor with pigs than we do. So, technically, pigs are more closely related to bears than either is to us.
What I really wanted to know was how close pigs and bears are in the phylogenetic ‘tree’ as it appears today.
From a more personal point of view, I have had two pigs as pets. Large, large pigs that weighed about 900 - 1000 pounds. I swear they hibernated during winter (mind you, I live in norther B.C., Canada and everything around here hibernates a little bit). My pigs will eat almost anything - to keep them happy and health I have only fed them vegetables, fruits and staches. No meats. Protein but no meats.
So, how far back do the pig and the bear share ancestors? And where were we (us humans) when they were sharing a common ancestor?
Vona
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### Author:  [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/17 "2006-05-11T23:21:31Z")
> [@John Mace](#):
>
> They don’t actually hibernate, but they can go into torpor, which is often mistaken for true hibernation. But I don’t think hamsters can be considered domsticated in the usual sense of the term anyway. Taking a wild animal and putting it into a cage does not creat a demosticated animal.
Explain, please, the difference between torpor and hibernation.
Vona
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### Author:  [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/18 "2006-05-11T23:35:37Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#):
>
> Actually, bears share a more recent common ancestor with pigs than we do. So, technically, pigs are more closely related to bears than either is to us.
One last question (for now),
If we are that far removed from the pig family, why is it that our tissues and theirs are so compatible? Think transplants… heart valvular transplants… Are we really that compatible or are pigs just convenient donors???
And then, why don’t we use bear tissue? (What a horrible thought given the illegal bear parts scavenged for aphrodesiac properties…).
Vona
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/19 "2006-05-12T01:15:54Z")
> [@vpriest](#):
>
> Explain, please, the difference between torpor and hibernation.
Torpor is for a very short period of time (usually less than a day). Hibernation is lengthy. I’m not certain, but I suspect there is a continuum in nature, and it isn’t always easy to draw a distinct line between the two.
As for where bears/pigs and humans depart company, it’s at the “Superorder level”. A Superorder is a level above Order (but below Class). Bears and pigs are in the Superorder \*Laurasiatheria \*while Humans are in the Superorder _Euarchontoglires_. That puts us with primates, rodents and rabits, and puts bears/pigs with bats, moles and horses (for example).
Humans are in the \*Primate \*Order, pigs are in the \*Artiodactyla \*Order, and Bears are in the \*Carnivora \*Order. If you remember your Scientific Classificaition System, it goes:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
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### Author:  [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pigs/356300/20 "2006-05-12T01:58:45Z")
I travelled to the Galapagos Islands last year and I asked this question of our naturalist guides. I didn’t get a straight answer. You gave me one - thank you! It makes good sense!
Vona
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