There’s a lot to love about animals. They’re adorable, and they often become important members of our families. But many creatures get a bad rap from misinformed stereotypes that suggest they're dirty — we’ve all heard about pigs rolling in mud and raccoons guarding trash cans as if they were treasure chests. In reality, there are plenty of animals in the world that surprise us with their cleanliness.
Some of the cleanest animals got lucky with special characteristics that naturally keep them nice and tidy. Others put in the work to keep themselves freshened up. So, what are the cleanest animals in the world? You might be able to guess some, but this may surprise you.
Pigs Are the Cleanest of Them All.
Would you believe it if we told you that pigs may be the world's cleanest animals? As it turns out, these intelligent creatures definitely don’t live up to their reputations for being unclean.
We've all heard the pig metaphors — from "it looks like a pigsty in here" to "you're sweating like a pig" — but these don’t have much of a basis in reality. The latter phrase in particular is pretty erroneous, as pigs aren't actually able to sweat at all. These animals don’t have sweat glands, which is where all the wallowing in the mud comes from — and where they got their reputation for messiness.
Rolling around in mud helps keep them cool and also serves as a sort of DIY sunscreen to prevent sunburn. Pigs in nature are quite clean, however, and refuse to defecate close to where they eat or sleep. They're also highly intelligent in a number of other ways; they’ve demonstrated levels of cognition similar to those of 3-year-old human children.