Sheep pigs also known as Mangalica sheep pigs are the most unusual breed of pigs, and the animal was on the verge of extinction in the past.

Have you ever seen a sheep pig? No? we’ve seen hamsters as big as baby rabbits. Some sheepdogs look like furry lions. Striped donkeys? Of course!

In this article, we give you the softest pigs! They look like sheep but have nothing to do with the animal. Sheep are adorable, soft, and warm. Children like to play with cute little lambs and furry dogs. What about pigs? We don’t really play with pigs. You can’t play with a pig.

Now imagine having a furry pig. Sheep pigs are nothing like the pigs you are used to seeing. These animals have no sheep or dog DNA but sure look like these two.

The Mangalica pig has a thick wool coat and has the legs and face of a pig. These pigs follow their owners everywhere and their canine-like behavior definitely comes as a surprise.

The furry pig is bread as pet and high-end meat source.

A Hungarian breed of domestic pigs

Managlista or Mangalitza was first created when a group of geneticists crossbred hardy varieties of Hungarian pig (Bakonyi and Szalontai) with the European wild boar in 1833. The pigs were also crossbred with a Serbian pig bred.

The animal grows really fast and doesn’t need any special care. It was originally bred for the menu of Austro-Hungarian emperors. Increased availability of food and preservation techniques made the animal almost extinct in the mid-20th century.

Mangalica was the most popular pig in Eastern Hungary until 1950. By 1991, their number dropped from 30,000 to 200. Animal geneticist Peter Toth decided to do something about the species.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Toth got the last of the Mangalica sheep pig to prevent a total decimation. Today, Toth is the President of the Mangalica Breeders Association. He tried really hard to repopulate the species. According to estimations, there are over 7,000 sows producing 20,000-60,000 piglets each year. Numerous farmers took part in the initiative.

“If you treat them nicely, they’ll become as tame as dogs–they’ll follow you, play with you,” one of the breeders said.

Varieties of Mangalica Sheep Pigs

The Mangalica sheep pig thrive in Austria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Romania, the United States, and Slovakia.

Some varieties of the Mangalica were originally developed and some of them are extinct. Today, we have three main varieties, including “swallow-bellied,” blonde,” and “red.”

The swallow-bellied Mangalica is black in the black upper body with blond parts in the lower body. Red Mangalica is ginger and the blonde is… blonde. The wolf, black and baris pigs are extinct.

Experts in Hungary took part in many debates about the reproduction of these pigs. They may crossbreed pure varieties to gain success.

Source: www.bbc.com