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A ‘Talking’ Pig With a Love for Pigeons Just Became Instagram Royalty

Congrats to Merlin and his pal Al Capone.

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Your next social media fixation has arrived, and it’s a pig named Merlin. Living in Sacramento, the 4-year-old Mini Vietnamese pot-bellied pig has won people over with his next-level cuteness, his big personality, and the way he stomps on his talking buttons to make his demands known.

That fascination recently got him a Guinness World Record. Merlin now holds the title for the most Instagram followers for a pig, with 1.1 million followers as of February 23, 2026, according to Guinness World Records.

His owner, Mina Alali, adopted him in March 2022 and started training him when he was about 3 months old. Guinness says Merlin now uses more than 30 customizable voice-recorded buttons around the house to communicate his wants and needs. That’s the part that sends this story into another category entirely. Merlin’s cute, of course, yes. But they’re watching a pig appear to make requests, express preferences, and walk around like a tiny, hoofed household manager. It’s hard to look away. 

Guinness also says Merlin’s button use has sparked conversation about how intelligent, emotional, and human-like pigs can seem when they’re given time, patience, and positive reinforcement. People are absolutely enthralled by the sweet pig, and collectively lost their minds again when his owner highlighted his best friend, a prison pigeon named Al Capone (who Merlin, of course, talks about regularly).

Merlin the Talking Pig Is the Instagram Influencer We Need

The internet has always loved animal celebrities, but Merlin hits a different nerve. He’s not just some cutesy pet; he has a very real and very intelligent personality. Frankly, he comes across as more direct than some humans.

After the record news, Alali celebrated in a post and thanked followers “from the bottom of our human & piggy hearts,” adding that comments from people saying the content helps with “bad days, depression, anxiety” keep her going. 

Merlin has what a lot of influencers spend years trying to fake. He’s watchable, he’s funny, and he gives people a reason to come back. A pig learned how to ask for what he wants and built a massive audience doing it. Respect, honestly.

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