Experts found that pigs can play video games, offering new concepts and ideas of animal intelligence. The experiment includes four pigs that are tasked to play classic games so that they can have dog food treats.
KEMPEN, GERMANY - JULY 02: Piglets stand in a stall at a pig farm on July 02, 2020 near Kempen, Germany. Many hog farms across the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are fearing possible losses due to the temporary closure of several large slaughterhouses due to coronavirus outbreaks among slaughterhouse workers. The biggest outbreak has been at the Toennies plant in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, where over 1,500 workers out of a workforce of approximately 7,000 have tested positive. So far no date has been set for when the Toennies plant will reopen.
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At first, the scientists were giving them M&Ms. However, they decided to replace them with dog food since they are too sugary. The pigs were required to use a cursor with a joystick to play ping pong-like video games. They showed impressive skills every time they are playing, which really amused the researchers.
According to Gizmodo's latest report, the involved experts started to put the pigs on computerized tasks in the late 1990s. The journal Frontiers in Psychology is the one that published the whole study, stating that the pigs were able to understand and achieve goals in simple computer games. However, the researchers implemented visual and dextrous constraints on the animals.
Pigs showed unexpected video gaming skills
Candace Croney, the director of Purdue University's Center for Animal Welfare Science and lead author of the new study, said that the pigs could perform at a level higher than they expected.
BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19: Pigs stand in a pen at the 2018 International Green Week (Internationale Gruene Woche) agricultural trade fair on January 19, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. German authorities are currently drawing up measures to fend off African swine fever, which has been found among wild pigs the Germany's easttern neighbors. The virus us deadly to both wild and domestic pigs but nor harmful to humans.
"And well enough above chance that it's very clear they had some conceptual understanding of what they were being asked to do," she added via Gizmodo.
On the other hand, Stanley Curtis, a prolific pig researcher, said that the four pigs were the ones who were begging to play the video games. The researcher added that it seems like they really wanted to get out of their pens, which is obvious on their trotting up the ramp every time they are about to play.
But, the four pigs still faced some challenges when they were just starting with the experiment.
How did the pigs learn to play video games?
At the start of the experiment, the pigs were still having a hard time completing their tasks each day. Why? Because the joysticks were outfitted for trials with primates. Unlike the previous animals, the pigs don't have hands since they are hoofed animals and walk on all four legs. However, they learned that they can use their snouts and mouths to use their controllers and get their sweet dog treats.
Lori Marino, a neuroscientist, unaffiliated with the current paper, said that the pigs seemed to understand how the joysticks work, allowing them to change their behavior according to their needed actions.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon
