Conservationists have shared adorable footage of 15 pygmy hogs – the world’s smallest pig – being released into their historic home in Manas National Park, Assam, north-east India.
It was thought that these little mammals – which are just 25cm tall and weigh 6–9kg – were extinct, until their rediscovery in 1971.
In 1996, a team of conservationists from the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP), led by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, captured six hogs from the Kuribeel grasslands in Manas National Park and put them into captivity, where they began breeding them to create an insurance population to protect the species from extinction.
Since then, 194 hogs have been released back into the wild. The latest release is the first time the animals have returned to the site where they were initially captured 30 years ago. The release was made possible thanks to an eight-year push to restore the Kuribeel grasslands.
“The continued release and monitoring of captive-bred pygmy hogs is an important step toward establishing a self-sustaining population in the newly restored grassland habitats,” says Parag Jyoti Deka, director of the PHCP.
“We continue to strengthen our post-release monitoring strategies, with the most recent release involving camera-trap and sign surveys along with a radio-telemetry tracking of five pygmy hogs to assess their behaviour, survival, and habitat use after reintroduction.
“Every additional step we take, gives us opportunity to learn and create a better, stronger future for this fascinating species.”
Over the next five years, the team hopes to release another 80 pygmy hogs, with the long-term goal of rebuilding a wild population of around 300 hogs by 2040.
Top image credit: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
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