The Learned Pig's Return

My six week trip to Alaska and the Yukon turned into a longer absence from this blog than I had anticipated. I missed a bunch of pig news in the interim, but, I suppose, most of you heard of the pig in Australia named Bruce (left) who aggressively kept an elderly woman trapped in her house for ten days. When she tried to drive the pig away with a broom, the pig simply "snapped it in half with his mouth." If you missed this "when animals attack" story there is a good version here via MSNBC.

A Holiday Pig (Well, Wild Boar) Attack

According to the BBC (here), a 198 pound wild boar somehow got into a clothing shop in the French city of Poitiers, charging at customers and police before being taken out. Fifteen people were evacuated from the store, which was closed for two hours. While I'm sure there are better accounts in French, which I don't read, the BBC piece notes that for some reason wild boars were being relocated in the area by forestry workers. I, of course, thought of wild hogs yesterday on the drive to Hilton Head for the holidays, as we crossed the Ocmulgee River and traversed good wild hog territory.

Good luck with your own last minute holiday shopping, everybody...

Pigs & Medieval Studies

In the Middle, a medieval studies blog, has had several recent postings about pigs by Karl Steel, one of their contributors. You can find them here sorted by keyword. One post concerns anthropophagus pigs--pigs that eat human flesh. I've mentioned this theme a couple of times, as it's one that comes up in HBO's late-lamented Deadwood and in the on-going trial of accused Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton (for the latest news about his defense, see this BBC account). There is also a post about the Testamentum Porcelli, a satirical last will and testament from a pig that was popular with the kids back in the fourth century. If you happen to read Latin, you can find a copy here. If, like me, you haven't worked on your Latin since high school, there's a great 1987 article about it called "The Testament of the Piglet" that you can find here in J-Stor.

Thanks to the great porkopolis.org for the reference. Today's image comes from my friend Lisa from her trip to Nantucket. Painting and artist unknown, for now at least.

Anecdotes of Tame and Wild Swine

This image comes from one of the many editions of William Darton's A Present for a Little Boy (an 1825 edition is available on-line here). In a section entitled "Anecdotes of Tame and Wild Swine" the story is told of a little girl at Wanscomb, in Kent, "who, in attempting to take away one of the young pigs, received from the sow so severe a bite, as to occasion the loss of her arm." The girl apparently fell into the sty (not visible in this dramatic engraving) and would have been killed were it not for the intervention of a neighbor. The lesson drawn from this tale: "pigs are swine and not all of a temper; nor are the same hogs equally kind at all times." I'll post more from various editions of this book, including the author's comments on the "learned pig," soon.