19 May 2012
A piglet's most precious possession, Is the teat that he fattens his flesh on, He fights for his teat with tenacity, Against any sibling's audacity, The piglet, to arm for this mission, Is born with a warlike dentition, Of eight tiny tusks, sharp as sabres, Which help in impressing the neighbours; But to render these weapons less harrowing, Most farmers remove them at farrowing, We studied pig sisters and brothers, When some had teeth, but not others, We found that when siblings aren't too many, The weapons help little if any, By when there are many per litter, The teeth help their owners grow fitter, But how did selection begin, To make weapons to use against kin?
From Fraser & Thompson (1991) - see, I am revising, honest!
A Piglet's Weapons • Opuss № I