Vietnamese Pot-bellied

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Vietnamese Pot-bellied
FAO (2007): endangered[1]: 130 
Other names
  • Pot-bellied Pig
  • Vietnamese: Lợn Ỉ
  • Lon I
  • I
  • Í
Country of originVietnam
DistributionRed River Delta[2]: 565 
Usemeat
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    average: 50 kg (110 lb)[3]
  • Female:
    average: 48 kg (105 lb)[3]
Height
  • Male:
    average: 36 cm (14 in)[3]
  • Female:
    average: 35 cm (14 in)[3]
Hairblack
  • Sus domesticus
    • Đông Hồ painting of pigs of I type
    Lào Cai Province

    Vietnamese Pot-bellied is the

    domestic pig
    .

    The I is uniformly black and has short legs and a low-hanging belly, from which the name derives. They are utilized for meat and are slow-growing.

    Bắc Ninh province as a symbol of happiness, satiety and wealth.[2]
    : 616 

    History

    The I is a traditional Vietnamese breed. It is thought to have originated in

    Thanh Hóa immediately to the south, in the North Central Coast region.[2]
    : 616 

    Until the 1970s the I was probably the most numerous pig breed in northern Vietnam, with numbers running into millions.

    FAO listed it as "endangered".[1]
    : 130 

    Small numbers of I pigs were exported in the 1960s to Canada and Sweden, to be kept in zoos or to be used for laboratory experiments. Within a decade, they had spread to animal parks in other countries in Europe; a few were reared on

    smallholdings. They entered the United States from Canada in the mid-1980s, and by the end of the decade the "pot-bellied pig" was being marketed as a pet. Not all of these were purebred, and some grew to considerable size;[2]: 616  the fad was short-lived.[6]

    In 2013 it was declared an invasive species in Spain.[7]

    Characteristics

    The I is a small pig, with an average weight of approximately 50 kg, and an average height of about 36 cm. It is uniformly black, with heavily wrinkled skin. It has a pronounced

    sway back and a large sagging belly, which in pregnant sows may drag on the ground. The head is small, with an up-turned snout, small ears and eyes, and heavy sagging jowls.[2]
    : 616 

    The I is robust and has good resistance to disease and to parasites. It is usually raised extensively, and forages well on the rice straw and water plants of its native area. It is particularly well adapted to the marshy and muddy terrain on which it usually lives: it has plantigrade feet, with weight borne on all four toes of each foot.[2]: 616 

    Two principal types are recognised within the breed: the I-mo or Fatty I is the typical small short-legged pig, with small upward-pointing ears and a short snout; the I-pha or Large I is taller, has longer legs and a longer snout, with bigger ears held horizontally.[2]: 616 

    Notes

    1. ^ "Lon", Vietnamese: Lợn, means "pig".[3]

    References

    1. ^
      ISBN 9789251057629
      . Archived 23 June 2020.
    2. ^
      ISBN 9781780647944
      .
    3. ^ a b c d e Breed data sheet: Lon I/Viet Nam. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2017.
    4. ISBN 9783861864967
      .
    5. ISBN 9789251057629
      . Archived 6 January 2021.
    6. ^ The Joy of Pigs/ Pigs as Pets. PBS Nature. Accessed June 2017.
    7. ^ Real Decreto 630/2013, de 2 de agosto, por el que se regula el Catálogo español de especies exóticas invasoras (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Estado 185, 3 August 2013.

    Further reading

    • Nguyen, Thuy Thi Dieu (2004). Genetic diversity and distances of Vietnamese and European pig breeds analysed with microsatellite loci. Aachen: Shaker Verlag. Dissertation.
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