Choctaw Hog
| Conservation status | Critically rare breed |
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| Country of origin | United States |
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The Choctaw Hog is a breed of domestic pig historically used by Native Americans. They are now reduced in population to some hundred animals, most of them in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The calls the Choctaw Hog's status "critically rare" and says it "is a high conservation priority."
The Choctaw descends from brought to the Americas by Spaniards from the 16th century onwards. The Choctaw Hog was used not only by Native Americans but also by European settlers and a succession of other peoples in the Southeastern United States for over three hundred years.
The Choctaw people and their migrated from the Deep South to Oklahoma Territory in the early 19th century. The United States government forced the Five Civilized Tribes out of Mississippi and Alabama in 1830, and they too brought more hogs to Oklahoma. An Oklahoma Choctaw will from 1858 leaves the posthumous "wish and desire that all the hogs running at the home place be gathered and sold". It is from Oklahoma swine that today's Choctaw Hogs are descended and their appearance has changed little in 150 years.
Choctaw hogs have two distinctive characteristics indicative of their ancestors brought from Spain. First, their toes are typically fused forming a single hoof like that of a mule. The mulefoot shares this trait for the same reason and the two breeds may come from common ancestral stock which was loosely selected and managed until the late 19th century. Secondly, many have fleshy wattles on each side of their necks.
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Wikipedia