Happy Mother’s Day for UK moms (USA moms too, although Mother’s Day is observed in May across the Atlantic).
It is said that a pig is pregnant for three months, three weeks and three days. Typically, a Mama pig gives birth to about ten piglets, and she can have up to three litters per year! That’s a lot of piglets! It is advisable to keep male (boar) and female (sow) adult pigs separated to limit over-breeding.
Here is wishing all of the hard working mamas out there (all mamas are hard working mamas of course) a wonderful Sunday, hopefully inside, not going anywhere, and washing your hands.
Of course, we were warned that something like this was looming on the horizon. It was long the subject of board games, movies and conspiracy theories. And now here we are, many of us are confined to our homes for the foreseeable future while heroes are called upon to care for the sick and deliver supplies to the isolated. It is quite extraordinary. In the UK, if this week were a chapter of the story of the time of COVID, it would be titled “The Scramble.” It is the period of gathering supplies, fretting over school closures and transitioning large portions of the workforce from offices to homes while figuring out what to do about all the people doomed to lose their livelihoods while we hibernate from the invisible enemy.
However, there is hope. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Dr Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox recently said in an interview, this is an opportunity for humanity. It is ok to be afraid, but perhaps this is the giant push we need as a species to realise that there is more that unites us than divides us. Maybe this is our big opportunity to put profits and personal opinions aside and come together. Maybe, in the wake of the crisis, we will emerge to a world that is better than the one we are leaving behind.
Sometimes it is hard to keep to a safe distance. Take Pam, Angela and Ellen here for example – they are not keeping a llama distance apart! With the first day of spring upon us, it can be hard to not get out and about as the world comes back from winter.
However, The Haven Zoo has created an opportunity to spend some extra time with their menagerie! For $5, you can book an enrichment with the animal of your choice! The Haven will send you a video of our furry friends engaging in a special activity or treat, personalised just for you. They also have virtual tours and other opportunities for socially distant, remote activities during social distancing efforts, click here to book.
Think of something happy and wonderful today. It may be hard, but there is always SOMETHING. Even if it’s as simple as you enjoyed a wonderful meal, had a good cup of coffee or saw something funny on the internet.
There is so much information out there about how to handle current events. The best advice is of course, stay calm and wash your hands. Washing your hands protects you, your loved ones and your community and is generally just a good idea. Even in normal circumstances, hand washing is important to prevent the spread of disease and to stay healthy – and to help keep your loved ones who may have compromised immune systems healthy.
Pigs are super smart and considered to be the most intelligent domesticated animal – even smarter than dogs. Like dogs, pigs can be trained and appear to have a high degree of emotional intelligence. In addition, pigs have very good memories and are curious and creative.
Feeling overwhelmed? The past week it may have felt like an overload of information. It is perfectly ok sometimes to switch off, turn off your phone, ignore social media, and shut down notifications. Rest comes in many forms, and even when the news seems to change every hour taking a mental break is key to staying sane.
One of the pig’s most distinctive features is its snout. It is unsurprising that pigs have an excellent sense of smell. In fact, pigs can detect scents an estimate 2,000 times more than humans. They use their keen noses not just to find food like many other animals, but also to sense danger and access their general surroundings. The end of the snout that forms the pigs distinctive “nose” is made of a thick, rough cartilage that allows them to really dig their nose in to sniff around. Pigs even have memories linked to different smells, so next time you see one rooting sniffing around perhaps it’s looking for something or trying to find its exact favourite spot from before! Amazing!
Did y’all know there are more pigs than humans in Denmark? For every 100 human residents of Denmark, there are 215 pigs. Why so many pigs? Well, for better or worse, Denmark has the largest pig meat industry in the world. However, it is starting to decline as more people are adopting vegetarian and vegan diets, in fact between 2014 and 2017 there was a 600% rise in vegans in the United States alone!
Goat of the Day 