Mangalitsa Pig
Discovered: Wasn’t, As It Was Created
Location: Europe
The Mangalitsa Pig is certainly one of the most unique animals around, especially when it comes to the overall pig species. The reasoning for this might be obvious to see. Our pig friend here is covered in hair, unlike any other pig species. How did this happen? The story goes that in the 1830s, Austria-Hungary Prince of Serbia Miloš Obrenović wanted to cross-breed a European wild boar with a Serbian breed. He sent off 12 pigs to do this, 10 of them being sows and the other two being boars. The pigs were initially sent to the Prince’s farm near Belgrade. That was where the black Mangalista version of the species was created.
However, the Prince eventually sent the pigs to Archduke Joseph, who was the Palatine of Hungary at the time. That was officially the estate where the new breed of the Magalista Pig was created. Why was this cross-breeding done? Apparently, it was assumed that the pig would become larger and carry more fat. That turned out to be true, as it’s up to 70% fat. The species was initially formed by breeding Hungarian pigs from Nagyzalonta and Bakony with the European and Serbian Šumadija wild boars. The only other pig species to have a coat of hair like this species was the now-extinct Lincolnshire Curly Coat pig native to England.