The Kunekune Pig: An Adorable New Zealand Pet Pig

The kunekune pig is a small, adorable, rare breed of a pig. They originated from New Zealand. This breed of pig is very friendly and is a grazer rather than forager, which means that they are easier to care for than the other pigs. What is a grazer and a forager? Grazer means that the food you feed it could be simple things like grass or grains, while forager means special made food for animals. That would make it easier to feed kunekune pigs because you do not have to buy a specific type of food for the kunekune pig to eat and you can let him eat foods like grass, fruits and vegetables. That way it's easier for you to feed the pig because grass, fruits, and vegetables are something that you have at home and you also don't need to spend so much money to buy specially made food for the kunekune pig. Kunekune pigs are thus easy pigs to maintain and care for as you do not need to worry about their diet!

The kunekune pig is a small breed that rarely exceeds the size of 24". Even for a small animal, this pig can weigh a whole 255 pounds. What does this piggy look like? Well, it's small and usually round like most pigs are. These pigs' coat can be an assortment of colours. The most common colour of the pig is pure black which is actually one of the main reasons they are chosen for pet (they are simply adorable!). The kunekune pig has a short, stubby snout and tusks. The tusks curl upwards and male pigs typically have bigger snouts then females. Even if the kunekune pig is a very friendly creature, they can hurt you easily if they move their tusks in the wrong way. These piggy's ears can either stand on its head or hang over their heads. The kunekune pigs have short legs. One thing that makes this pig really special is something that only this breed, The Polish Black, and White pig have and that is the interesting dewlaps that are hanging over their mouth. Dewlaps are some loose, extra skin that hangs from an animal's neck. These breeds of pigs are very special indeed to have something that only they have and no other piggy breeds.

This breed of pigs is almost extinct! Of course that was back in the 1980's, when there were only 50 purebred kunekune left! Why, they were close to extinction because they had used the kunekune pigs as provisions. They were going to die out, but then Micheal Willis and John Simister, Wildlife Park owners, saved these little pigs by commencing a breeding program so that there would be more purebreds. They had did this by buying all the kunekune pigs that they had come across. Thus these kunekune pigs were no longer an endangered species. Now-a-days, these kunekune pigs are healthily passing on life while living their own. There are still breeding programs in New Zealand and The United Kingdom in order to make sure that the kunekune pigs would never again be endangered species.

The Kunkune pig is a wonderful species of pigs, and also are nowadays even used as pets. It is defintiely a good sight to see as they are so adorable, and easy to maintain.