Piggies Play at Purdue

Two scientists (Croney and Boysen) at Purdue University describe a novel operant conditioning study using a total of 4 pigs of variable breeds (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/11/pigs-can-be-trained-to-use-computer-joysticks-say-researchers). The pigs operated individually in enclosures, where they could use their snouts to manipulate a joystick. This moved a cursor on a monitor screen. The screen could display a variable number of 'walls' which, if contacted by the cursor, would emit a 'blooping' sound, followed by a food reward. Better performing pigs had to perform with fewer 'walls'. Although the pigs became quite good at the task, they were not as skilled as Macaque monkeys who could use their hands. Two eventually became too fat to stand for long periods in the enclosures. The findings support the long-established view, that pigs are relatively intelligent animals. They can be trained, like dogs, to follow commands and to use their sense of smell to detect illegal drugs or explosives. Pigs would probably have been better-suited to use a touch screen with their snouts, rather than the joysticks. They also could also have been at a disadvantage in this particular test, as they lack the binocular vision of Primates and are somewhat long-sighted.