Talk:Pygmy Hog
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[edit] Latest News
Forwarded Message ----
From: "NALINM To: nathistory-india@ Princeton. EDU Sent: Monday, January 8, 2007 1:37:47 PM
Subject: - Pygmy Hog conservation efforts [Assam]
Pygmy Hog, Times of India
Huge conservation effort rescues tiny pig
Neelam Raaj
8 Jan, 2007
NEW DELHI: The smallest wild pig in the world is taking its first steps back from the brink of extinction. Thanks to a captive breeding programme, the pygmy hog — whose number is down to a few hundreds in Assam — may soon be re-introduced in the wild.
Standing just 12 inches off the ground and weighing a mere 10 kg (its maximum size), this petite pig was once found throughout the wet riverine grasslands that stretched from Uttar Pradesh to the North-East.
And then later thought to have become extinct. Until 1971, when two small populations were rediscovered in northern Assam. Today, Manas has the only wild population of the pygmy hog in the world.
The effort to save the species has been spearheaded by Durrell Wildlife, a zoo founded by the naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, which worked with Indian authorities and the World Conservation Union.
And now the conservation programme — which began in 1995 with six hogs — has been so successful that it is packed to capacity with 70 to 80 of these shy animals.
About 10 animals will be released once required preparations have been made to their grassland habitats at the designated release sites: the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary and the Nameri National Park.
The captive bred hogs have already been moved to a pre-release centre near Nameri and are being closely monitored to ensure that they acclimatise to life without human support.
In the next eight months, the first batch of hogs should be ready for release, said Goutam Narayan, a wildlife expert who works with Durrel and Ecosystem India. But Narayan is still a worried man.
"The reasons they disappeared from the wild have to be first dealt with because these hogs are a barometer to what's wrong with the grassland habitat."
Human encroachments, over-grazing of grassland, hunting and commercial forestry have all contributed to losses in the grassy habitat that serves as home to the pygmy hog.
"Over the last couple of months, more human settlements have come up in the Nameri Tiger Reserve (one of the release sites) and that is worrying," said Narayan.
But he's still hopeful that the species (Sus salvanius) that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists as critically endangered will thrive in their natural habitat.
Genetic studies by the Durrel team have revealed that the pygmy hog is a far more important member of the pig family than previously suspected.
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 this year.
Atulsnischal 09:18, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
