Pig survives China quake for 36 days on charcoal and rainwater

New Delhi, June 24 : A 330-pound pig was found alive in a tiny slot among the debris of its sty surviving for 36 days only on charcoal and rainwater in quake-hit Sichuan province in south-west China.

Because of the diet, the animal has, however, been reduced to one-third of its weight making it almost unrecognizable as a pig.

A curator from the Jianchuan Museum bought the pig for 3,008 yuan and promised to care for it until it died naturally.

He named the pig Zhu Jianqiang (Pig Strong), tacked on a nickname: 36-day piggy.

The pig weighed only 40 pounds last June when its owners, the couple of Wan Xinming and Liu Dahui, bought it from a market. By the end of April, it had packed on the pork and grown to a 300-pound hog.

The May 12 earthquake destroyed its sty. Although Wan wanted to get the pig out the next day, he was told to evacuate to safety immediately.

The pig's rescue initially met with disbelief.

"It is unbelievable that the pig was still alive after 36 days. No matter how fat a pig is, it cannot live for five days without food and water," Xinhua quoted a local vet, as saying,

But it seems that the collapsed sty hemmed the animal into a tiny slot, restricting its movements and thus reducing its need for food. The heavy rain that followed the quake was another decisive factor in the isolated pig's survival.

And its pre-quake bulk was an internal reserve of energy that the pig drew on during its ordeal.

ANI