Danish scientists launch 'dictionary' to translate swine

Scientists tracked the calls of 411 pigs for a long time to find differences and identify corresponding emotions.

Pigs make different calls in positive and negative situations. )

Understanding the emotions of animals can help people take better care of them. Elodie Briefer, an animal behaviorist at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), and colleagues developed a new method to help interpret pig calls. The new study was published in the journal Scientific Reports on March 7.

To build a "dictionary" of pig sounds, the researchers recorded more than 7,400 sounds from 411 pigs and tracked their life experiences from birth to death. The team then linked the different vocalizations to the pigs' movements and body language.

Pigs have positive emotions when nursing, reunited with their family, cuddled with their littermates, and roamed around freely. Negative emotions emerge in situations such as social isolation, fighting, sterilization, and waiting in the slaughterhouse.

"There is a clear difference in the sound of pigs when we consider the positive and negative situations. In the positive situation, the call is much shorter with small fluctuations in amplitude. Specifically, the sound. Calls start at a high level and gradually decrease to lower frequencies. By setting up an algorithm to recognize these sounds, we were able to correctly classify 92% of voices according to emotion," Briefer said. .

New research as part of the SoundWel project aims to help experts monitor and improve pig health by reducing stress and encouraging positive emotions. Next, Briefer said, they will likely develop the algorithm into an app for farmers.