Tutorial Pig

''"Just who is that pig anyway? And why is he wearing glasses?" -Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns Instruction Manual.

Tutorial Pigs are a species of intelligent pigs that live on the Donkey Kong Island. They appear in Donkey Kong Country Returns (as well as its 3DS remake) and act similar to a Star Barrel, or a checkpoint and throughout the game they will teach the player how to use the controls and use certain game features such as the Rocket Barrel. As such, they could possibly be considered an Animal Buddy of sorts. They also suggest the player to use the Super Guide when the player dies eight times in a level. Tutorial Pigs also appear in other sections of the levels indicating the player to press buttons to do certain actions. Tutorial Pigs also appear in Time Attack, waving the flag at the beginning and appearing out of the goal barrel.

Tutorial pigs are set to reappear in the upcoming Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, though this time their checkpoint stands have a new design, and it's revealed that there is only one Tutorial Pig in the species, by the name of "Professor Chops".