The third pig calms the quarrel and comforts the victim

Fighting is common among all animal species, but pigs seem to have a fairly exclusive claim; care of the victim. This is at least the conclusion drawn by the biological anthropologist Ivan Norscia, in a study published last week. Norscia and her team studied a hundred pigs for six months and analyzed quite a few disputes between them.

Often beasts would end in a conciliatory nose hug, but sometimes more was apparently needed. The team regularly saw passers-by intervene. Sometimes approaching and calming the aggressor, sometimes approaching the victim, apparently to comfort them. For example, the fighter received a hug from the nose or a pat with an ear. Such uprightthe behavior (bystander intervention) became more common as the pigs approached each other.

In particular, the interventions towards the aggressor seemed to work. The one who was approached by a third pig after a fight attacked less often, both towards the previous victim and towards others. This did not apply to the victims, who were attacked as often after an intervention as the pigs that were not approached, but the researchers found that the animal showed significantly less agitation afterwards. They trembled or scratched less after such a visit.

Pigs have a wide variety of reconciliation strategies, the researchers conclude. And they can apply it.

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