Are pigs cute?

piglets definitely are, they are less cute as they get older

That mother sow, above...

"Come any closer to my babies, and I'll eat your face !!!"

I think they're kinda cute, even when they are grown. I understand they are very loyal, and smart...great alternative pet instead of a dog.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

That mother sow, above...

"Come any closer to my babies, and I'll eat your face  !!!"

If pigs could talk, eh?

Piglets are adorable, but when they grow up they look good enough to eat

Most domesticated animals are cute, due to a quirk of evolution called neoteny. It seems whenever a species is "tamed," it tends to retain childish physical traits into sexual maturity.

That's why dogs have spots or stripes all their lives, while wolves only have spots or stripes as puppies. It's probably also why people have big eyes and a high hairline into adulthood, whereas our ancestors probably looked quite mean as adults, with small eyes and foreheads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny

They are cute, Crackling is even "cuter" !

There's a famous story of a female leopard that killed an ape, only to discover that the ape was carrying its baby. The cat demonstrated genuine conflict when she saw the baby -- 'should I eat this thing or care for it?'

I take this as further proof that animals have a common ancestor, and that our genes have been guiding us toward an instinct of protecting the young for a very long time.

@ben

in Mammals, less so in Reptiles, fish and birds.

the trait is not even really in Marsupials. example a Baby wombat

Ive told you before Veya........NO SELFIES....

Wiki wrote:ne·ot·e·ny
/nēˈät(ə)nē/
noun
1.
the retention of juvenile features in the adult animal.
Latin neotenia; neo + Greek teinein = to extend; also called juvenilization

Otherwise thought of as, "when larval life is extended."  http://www.iaszoology.com/neoteny/  

Thought to be an adaptive feature, to extend the education period of young, in higher animals.  Eg, mother cats with kittens estimated to be 6-weeks; but in humans, between 18- to 21-years, simultaneous with legal ages.

Education: Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin ēducātiō ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from ēducō ("I educate, I train") which is related to the homonym ēdūcō ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from ē- ("from, out of") and dūcō ("I lead, I conduct").

Urban etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin ēducātiō ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from ēducō ("I educate, I train") which is related to the homonym ēdūcō ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from ē- ("from, out of") and dūcō ("I lead, I conduct").

Urban colloquial: 'I hung out at my mom's house until I got my shit together and gotta job.'