Pigs can learn to play video games, using their snouts to control joysticks and hit targets on a screen.

A landmark study published in Frontiers in Psychology in February 2021 documented how four pigs—Hamlet, Omelette, Ebony, and Ivory—were trained to play a basic video game. Researchers at Purdue University's Center for Animal Welfare Science used a joystick to teach the animals to move a cursor into four wall-like borders on a monitor. The pigs had to overcome significant physical challenges, including being far-sighted and lacking hands, relying solely on their sensitive snouts to operate the hardware.The results were statistically significant, with the pigs performing well above random chance levels. This demonstrated that the animals understood the causal link between moving the joystick in their mouths and the resulting movement of pixels on the screen. Even more striking was the pigs' persistence when the automated food dispenser malfunctioned. The pigs continued to play correctly when encouraged by the researchers' voices, indicating that social interaction and intrinsic motivation—not just food rewards—drove their behavior.This research builds on earlier work from the 1990s by Dr. Stanley Curtis, who pioneered the study of porcine intelligence using modified joysticks. These findings place pigs in an exclusive group of animals, including chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys, that can perform the complex cognitive task of video game play. The study underscores that pigs possess mental flexibility and conceptual understanding that is frequently underestimated in domestic livestock. These insights are vital for enhancing animal welfare standards in agricultural systems globally.