#sheep pig

[unibat]

Narrator: “The time comes for all creatures, when childhood ends, and the doorway opens to life as an adult. And so it was with Fly’s pups. Though that time was all too soon, for Fly.”

Babe (1995) (c) Universal Studios

Art (c) Me

Made in Sai/ Csp (7 hours)

[thecreatureawaits]

Creature Awaits #169

Each week I plan to feature an amazing creature, admiring God's fantastic artistry.  Hopefully it’ll brighten someone’s day to see something new and interesting if they haven’t seen it before. : )

Welcome to "Cool Hair, Bro!" month, where we'll be featuring animals with awesome "hairstyles"... : )

(Photo taken by fabulous photographer, Tamsin Cooper (CC BY-SA 2.0))

The Mangalitsa Pig

A.K.A: The Mangalica Pig, The Sheep Pig

Scientific Name: Sus domesticus (same as all domesticated pigs)

Region: Originally bred in Hungary

Size: If allowed to grow to full size, they can weigh up to 750 pounds (~340kg)!  

Interesting Notes: The only domestic pig left in the world with a woolly coat, the Mangalitsa pig can currently be found in 3 color varieties: Blonde, Swallow-Bellied, and Red.  Sadly, pure-bred Baris, Black and Wolf varieties have gone extinct.  Originally bred in (what is now) Hungary in 1833, they were an experiment in cross-breeding two strong Hungarian pig breeds with European Wild Boars and Serbian-native Šiška and Šumadinka pigs.  Again sadly, both of those Serbian breeds are now extinct, so Mangalitsa pigs remain the only link back to those breeds as well.  

Though primarily raised for meat, they are supposed to make nice outdoor pet pigs (IF you have the land to raise such a huge pet! .......And since they are a social animal, it's recommended to keep at least two...), as they are not only adorable, but require minimal care, graze well - which keeps pasture grasses tamed and halves the amount of additional food they require, and can be comfortable in nearly any climate as long as they are given enough shade and cold water (...and toleration for their extra shedding....) if kept somewhere warm. 

[saritawolff]

Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.

I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!

Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:

🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.

🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.

🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)

🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.

🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.

🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!

[happyheidi]

Details from Sacha Goldenberg's “Flemish Painting” series. x

[4threset]

The Chinese Zodiac Race

Told in Hues.

[vhs-rat]

FLINT . MORGAN . FREYA . HELGA

[420technoblazeit]

connor's going to plop friend into ghostbur's arms and b like here's ur boyfriend ig and then sit down in his shitass beanbag chair and force everyone to play mario kart with him. MD chooses princess peach, ghostbur gets toad. they play rainbow road first and schlatt almost breaks the tv. rtgames is there for some reason and he's kicking their asses

[nemfrog]

Among the farmyard people. 1899.

Internet Archive

[seenfull]

(...not the first time it happens)

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

From walking the pet duck to duck costumes to duck-headed women -- a collection of vintage duck imagery.

[kidcore-nostalgia]

1980s/90s editions of children's books by Dick King-Smith

[toffeechad]

i made this because uh- yea this pipeline will exist no matter what internet media is it

[tempural]

Wow! It's a new year themed postcard! For Zeenie Weenies in my sticker club! We got all the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and most importantly, the dog is a weenie. Happy new year to y'all 😃

[primordialcore]

metalhead furry dudes

[vhs-rat]

tea discourse