Predation by a Herd of Domestic Pigs: A Case Report

Abstract

Predation by domestic pigs is unusual but not unheard of. However, predation by a herd of pigs is rare and has not been previously reported in the literature. We present a case report of an individual with predation by a herd of domestic pigs. The case involved a woman who had collapsed from a ruptured saccular aneurysm on her farm. A herd of farm pigs had subsequently predated on the decedent, either while she was unconscious (perimortem), or after death (postmortem). The features of the predation are described, showing characteristics previously described in individual porcine attacks on the living and documented in forensic taphonomy, albeit with rapidity not previously reported. Postulations of why the predation had occurred in a normally docile herd of pigs are discussed, including the status of the herd, familiarity between the herd and the decedent, and the decedent's activity around the time of death. Forensic implications of a rural death scene are also discussed in brief.