These little cutes are gaining love, warts and all at San Diego Zoo. The energetic pair of piglets was born on June 26. The curious and playful piglets have been showing off their climbing, running and jumping skills.
Bob Cisneros, San Diego Zoo’s animal care supervisor said, ‘These piglets are full of energy, running almost immediately after they are born.’
These animals are going to need that energy as they are the future of their critically endangered species. They have become endangered due to loss of habitat, hybridisation and hunting.
Recently they have begun to develop a taste for fruits and vegetables with lettuce proving to be a favourite. They still enjoy a drink of milk from mom occasionally though.
Cisneros added that the piglets, ‘They are continually learning new behaviours and spend most of their day engaging in play behaviours, though like any newborn, they sometimes take the time to nap in their beds of hay.’
These animals might be known as warty pigs but in reality they only have small warts on the face. Instead they can be distinguished by their tusks formed by the lower canines and their prominent snout. The larger male also has more prominent warts and tusks. On both sexes heads are a reddish brown or black tuft of fur. This grows into a mane on the male throughout the mating season.
These pigs are found in the Philippines on the Visayan Islands. The zoo’s breeding program began in 1992 when they partnered with the department of environment and natural resources to create the Visayan Warty Pig Breeding Program.
San Diego Zoo has bred 88 piglets since the founding group arrived at the zoo in 2002. These piglets are the latest arrivals in the Visayan warty pig sounder, or family. They live with their dad and mum as well as two other female’s in Panda canyon at the zoo.
Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo/ Tammy Sprat
