The Taihu pig (Chinese: 太湖猪) is a domestic breed of pig from the narrow region of mild sub-tropical climate around the Lake Tai region in the lower Yangtze River Valley of China. The breed is a large one, black with a heavily wrinkled face. It has a large head with a broad forehead and large folded ears. The breed has several divisions, classified by some authors as strains and by others as separate breeds.
All the Taihu strains have a high rate of reproduction with litter sizes ranging up to twenty, but averaging fourteen live piglets. This characteristic, as well as their disease resistance, has resulted in interest in the pigs for research into breeding and genetic engineering. Taihu pigs have been established in France, Albania, Hungary, Japan, the UK and the US.
There are usually four main groups of the Taihu pig identified and these are listed below. Although many others are named by authors, it is debatable whether there is any substantial genetic difference as some variation is due to diet and environment rather than genetics. Taihu is kept well-fed on a vegetable diet with large amounts of roughage, which sometimes leaves them short of calcium for bone development.