text: why are fat people called pig? there are other animals fatter than pig? hippo, elephant, rhino in the west, pig is associated with gluttony. incidentally, all the animals that you quote are not found naturally in europe or america. so i can imagine that the people who coined that term did not consider those terms. that may explain why?  its also funny how the same animal gives rise to different opinions amongst folks. calling a person a cow in europe is highly derogatory. the same opinion in india doesnt hold too derogatory an insuniation, since that person is considered docile/well behaved. owl is considered to be a wise bird in europe. indians use owl as an insult! :-)  just two cents of an indian who grew up trying to make sense of such abject dichotomy!!