China's 'Strong-Willed Pig' Has Been Cloned

MELISSA BLOCK, host: There is news today of a pig.

(SOUNDBITE OF SNORTING PIG)

BLOCK: In particular, a 330-pound pig who became a Chinese national hero. His name is Zhu Jian Qiang, which translates to strong-willed pig. He got his name after he survived the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan Province in 2008.

?(SOUNDBITE OF SNORTING PIG)

BLOCK: I got up close and personal with this hero pig one year after the earthquake and learned he'd been trapped in the rubble for 36 days. It's thought that he survived by chewing charcoal and drinking rainwater, though no one is quite sure how he did it. It was considered a miracle.

Well, now to the news. Today, we learned that Zhu Jian Qiang is a father, sort of. The pig had been castrated, so scientists in China decided to clone him. The head of the cloning project told Hong Kong's Sunday Morning Post the wonderful pig has surprised us again.

Six piglets were made with his DNA. Reports say the pigs will be sent off in pairs to live in a museum and a genetic institute. Scientists want to know what made this strong-willed pig so strong-willed.

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