Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Researchers interpret pig emotions from the sounds they make
Listen
• 2:11
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Some humans spend a lot of time teaching words to animals.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
In recent years, Alex, the African gray parrot, developed a vocabulary of 150 words.
Support for LAist comes from
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
IRENE PEPPERBERG: What's here?
ALEX: Truck.
PEPPERBERG: That's a good boy. Truck - good boy.
ALEX: Want nut.
PEPPERBERG: Well, you can have a nut. Go choose your own.
MARTIN: Amazing. Also, in recent years, Koko the gorilla learned sign language.
Support for LAist comes from
INSKEEP: Other scientists try to figure out the languages that animals already have. Suppose we think of this as a form of expression.
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG GRUNTING)
MARTIN: Pigs are the subject of the study by Elodie Briefer. She's at Copenhagen University and a lead researcher for the SoundWel project.
ELODIE BRIEFER: What we did in this paper is to try to see if the calls produced in different situations vary.
MARTIN: They've been listening to the sounds a few pigs make from birth.
BRIEFER: So based on the behavior, we then classify them as emotionally positive, so which would be something that usually increase your chance of survival and that they would approach - or negative, which is where they would - situations they would avoid and which would decrease your chance of survival.
INSKEEP: Think about that. They identified four or five basic sounds that may give clues to how a pig feels.
Support for LAist comes from
BRIEFER: The main ones are their grunts.
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG GRUNTING)
BRIEFER: They have kind of low and closed and open-mouth grunts. And they have barks.
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG BARKING)
BRIEFER: And they have screams...
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG SCREAMING)
BRIEFER: ...And squeals.
Support for LAist comes from
(SOUNDBITE OF PIG SQUEALING)
INSKEEP: (Laughter) Amazing.
MARTIN: Wow. I don't really know what to say. Briefer says listening to pigs can help improve their welfare, which in turn helps a pig farmer.
INSKEEP: And at this point, we do have to just say it - pigs are mainly raised as a food source.
BRIEFER: We know that animals that have better welfare, they give better quality meat. So they have - they're usually less stressed. And stress triggers the release of cortisol, which gives a bad taste to the meat. So we know that better welfare leads to meat of better quality.
INSKEEP: OK. Briefer and her team believe that their method is about 92% accurate in discerning a pig's emotional state. And they plan to build some kind of tool, maybe an app, to help farmers listen to the pigs. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist