The world’s smallest and rarest pig, which was once feared extinct, is to be reintroduced to the wild.

Pygmy hogs were thought to have been wiped out in the 1960s until two small populations were found in northern Assam in India in 1971.

A conservation programme that began at Durrell Wildlife in Jersey in 1995 when six were captured for breeding has been so successful that 70 of the 12in-tall hogs now fill the holding pens and the first 10 are to be released into the wild later this year.

Genetic studies by the team have revealed that the pygmy hog is a far more important member of the pig family than previously suspected and further research may help to cast light on the evolutionary history of pigs.

Its DNA turned out to be so different from other hogs, such as wild boar, that naturalists at the Durrell Wildlife propose taking it off the family tree of the genus Sus salvanius and creating a new genus, Porcula salvanius, for it. They say that it is as different from boar, warthogs and farmyard pigs as horses are from donkeys and will publish their findings for peer review this year.

The released animals will help to boost the size of the wild population in the Manas National Park which is still critically endangered, with estimates suggesting that as few as 100 are left.

Pygmy hogs were once widspread across India, Nepal and Bhutan but are now found only in northern Assam where, despite legal protection, they are still threatened by poaching and loss of habitat to livestock grazing. Durrell Wildlife, a zoo founded by the naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, has worked with the Indian authorities and the World Conservation Union to ensure the survival of the pygmy hog.

John Fa, scientific director at the zoo, said the breeding scheme — the only captive population of pygmy hogs in the world — had been “hugely successful” and that it was time to return hogs to the wild.

He said: “It’s a unique population . . . genetically, it’s completely different from any other pig. It’s a new evolutionary line.”

The pygmy hogs are kept in enclosures in Basistha, in Assam, that mirror their natural habitat as closely as possible so that they will be able to survive when released. Their food is buried in the soil so that the pigs have to root for succulents and tubers as they will on release in their native grassland habitat.

A few pygmy hogs are now being moved into a pre-release area where they can breed without interference before being set free in the next dry season, which starts in November.

In the wild they also eat insects, small rodents and lizards, and during the hottest parts of the day they will make a nest in the ground by digging a hollow and filling it with vegetation.

Dr Fa, who has just returned from a trip to India to prepare for the hogs’ arrival, said: “Local people are absolutely key to the success of our work with endangered species. We will be working with national park staff, helping them learn more about this critically endangered animal and ways of protecting it through habitat management.”

In the wild their main threat will be from pythons and Asiatic wild dogs.

Goutam Narayan, who leads the project in India, said: “[In the pre-release centre] they will be closely monitored to ensure that they acclimatise to life without human support.

“We have restored grassland at the pre-release site and have erected electric fences to keep larger animals such as elephants out.

“This is a tried and tested approach that Durrell [Wildlife] has used with many endangered species, and we hope that the release of these animals will bring us one step closer to ensuring their survival.”

Pig pointers

Source: Times archives

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