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.
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.
"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
