Meet Merlin, the Record-Breaking Pig With Over a Million Instagram Followers
Meet Merlin. He's a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig from California; he has more Instagram followers than most people will ever dream of, and he just made it into the Guinness World Records as the most followed pig on the platform.
But the follower count isn't even the most impressive part.
Merlin communicates using 26 colorful sound buttons placed around his home — each one tied to a word or phrase he's learned to associate with specific needs, emotions, and routines. Hungry? There's a button for that. Wants attention? Button. Annoyed? Yep, a button for that too.
His owner Mina Alali started training him shortly after adopting him in March 2022 when he was just a few months old. It didn't happen overnight.
"The training took a lot of consistency and patience," Alali told Guinness World Records. "But now he can really communicate with us, and it's remarkable to see."
Videos of Merlin pressing his buttons and apparently holding conversations went viral, and the rest is history.
He’s Not Just Entertainment for People
Over a million people now follow a pig on Instagram — and based on the comments Alali sees rolling in, those followers aren't just there for entertainment.
"The comments saying our content helps with bad days, depression, anxiety, etc. is what gets me up in the morning even when I myself am going through a rough patch," she wrote on Instagram. "So thank you."
There's something genuinely sweet about that. A talking pig on the internet helping people get through hard days.
His Trainer Proves a Valid Point
Beyond the record and the followers, Alali has a bigger point she's been quietly making through Merlin's platform — pigs are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. Their cognitive abilities are often compared to those of young children, and Merlin's whole setup kind of proves it. Learning 26 buttons, associating each one with a specific context, and using them accurately to express himself is not a small thing.
Guinness called his communication system "a surprisingly intricate way for an animal to interact with humans." That's putting it mildly.
Alali says Merlin is recognized basically every time they go out in public at this point. The pig has fans. Real ones.
And, honestly? Good for him. He’s certainly earned it.
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