What type of animal is a mulefoot?
Mulefoot exactly when they originated as a syndactyl animal is not clear. While pigs with single hooves are found in writings as far back as Aristotle, the Mulefoot is the only population to be considered a breed, having an established standard type. The breed is possibly related to the Choctaw hog, and may share a similar ancestry. The Spanish-descended animals were minimally managed, with some selective breeding, which continued into the late 1800s. Breed standards for the Mulefoot arose around 1900. The breed was seen mainly in the Corn Belt and Mississippi River Valley. The early 20th century saw the breed
Mulefoot Fields and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (later The Livestock Conservancy) began working with Holiday to re-establish the breed registry and expand breeding programs to additional farms. As of 2013, The Livestock Conservancy considers the Mulefoot to be critically endangered, a categorization given to breeds with a population of fewer than 2,000 and yearly registrations of fewer than 200. As of 2006, there were estimated to be fewer than 200 purebred Mulefoot hogs in existence. Maveric Ranch took over conservatorship of the Mulefoot Breed in 2006. To date, they have placed breeding groups on over 40 farms across the USA.