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Two round Kunekune pigs, one ginger and one black-and-white, standing on straw.
Photo: 1RingFB, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kunekune Pig

Sus scrofa domesticus

A small, round, short-snouted pig breed kept by the Maori people of New Zealand, often with two tassels hanging from its chin.

🐐 Farm Animals🐗 Pigs and Hogs
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About the Kunekune Pig

Kunekune (say "cooney cooney") pigs have short legs, short snouts and very round bodies. They weigh 120 to 240 pounds and come in many colors, from black to gold to cream, sometimes spotted. Many have two tassels called piri piri hanging from the lower jaw. The breed has been kept for a very long time by the Maori people of New Zealand.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Sus scrofa domesticus[1]
Size
Up to 30 inches long.[1]
Weight
120 to 240 pounds.[1]
Lifespan
About 15 years.[1]
Diet
Omnivore. Grass, hay, plants, produce and grain.[1]
Where it lives
New Zealand; now found in many countries.[1]
Babies
Pregnancy lasts about 116 days. Usually six to eight piglets.[1]

Fun facts

  • "Kunekune" means "fat and round" in the Maori language.[1]
  • The tassels on a Kunekune's chin are called piri piri.[1]
  • The whole breed was rebuilt from just nine pigs in the late 1970s.[1]

Vocabulary

domesticated
Tamed and raised by people over many generations.
breed
A group of domestic animals that people have raised to share certain traits.
sow / boar
Names for an adult female (sow) and adult male (boar) pig.
Maori
The Indigenous people of New Zealand.
feral
A domestic animal that has gone back to living in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Kunekune Pig.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/kunekune-pig/ (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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