Domesticated animals : $b Their relation to man and to his advancement in civilizationShaler, Nathaniel Southgate
History
Domesticated animals : $b Their relation to man and to his advancement in civilization
Shaler, Nathaniel Southgate
Domestic animals
It seemed clear that the master of this learned pig did not guide the
movements of the animal by other indications than words. The questions,
in some cases, had to be reiterated in a loud voice in order to insure
attention. Several times during the performance the pig rebelled, broke
from the tent, and was with difficulty recaptured. The creature
disliked this task in the manner of a lazy school-boy, and at the end
of an hour of exercises seemed utterly overcome by his labor. He ran
into the box where he was ordinarily confined, and when dragged forth,
neither rewards nor punishments would quicken him to further work.
The above-described exhibition made it plain to me that the pig can be
taught to understand a certain amount of human speech and to associate
memories with phrases substantially as we do ourselves. It is perfectly
clear that the performance which I witnessed was not a mere routine
action, for I had a number of questions asked over again so as to make
it sure that the creature acted with reference to each separate inquiry.
The behavior of the animal during the performance seemed clearly to
indicate mental effort and not mere automatic memory. His attitude when
trying to determine which of two cards to take distinctly showed that he
was intently viewing the figures and endeavoring to come to a decision.
I am aware it has been suggested that learned pigs discriminate between
the cards by peculiarities of odor which have been given to these bits
of paper. I sought carefully to find if such was the case, and though I
have a very keen sense of smell I found nothing which led me to suspect
that this device was used. Even if such were the case, the rationality
of the animal's action would be none the less clear. The showman assured
me that he never used any such means in training pigs. He seemed,
indeed, to treat the suggestion with contempt.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account