Bearded pig
| Bearded pig | ||||||||||||
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Bearded pig ( Sus barbatus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Sus barbatus | ||||||||||||
| S. Müller , 1838 |
The bearded pig ( Sus barbatus ) is a species of mammal from the family of real pigs (Suidae) that lives in Southeast Asia .
features
Compared to other pigs, the bearded pig's body is comparatively slim, the legs thin and the head elongated. The name-giving feature is the yellowish-white hair that extends over the trunk. You have two pairs of warts on your face, the front of which is usually covered by the beard. Their sparse, bristly fur is gray or dark brown in color, and they also have a two-part tail tassel. Like all pigs, they have a long, trunk-like snout, their eyes are small, and their ears are relatively long. Bearded pigs reach a head body length of 100 to 165 centimeters, a shoulder height of 72 to 85 centimeters and a weight of up to 150 kilograms.
distribution and habitat
Bearded pigs live in Southeast Asia , their distribution area includes the south of the Malay Peninsula , Sumatra , Borneo and several offshore islands. The populations on Palawan and other Philippine islands are now considered to be a separate species ( Palawan bearded pig ). Their habitat are primary and secondary tropical rain and mangrove forests .
Way of life
Bearded pigs are usually diurnal and live in family groups. Unique among the pigs are their hikes, where hundreds of animals often come together in groups. During these hikes, which are related to the changing food supply and can often be several hundred kilometers long, they switch to a nocturnal way of life and mostly use the well-trodden paths of earlier marches.
Bearded pigs are omnivores that feed on fruits, roots, worms and carrion. Often they follow Gibbon - or Makakengruppen to the fruits that the primates fall to the ground to take.
Reproduction
After a gestation period of around four months, the female gives birth to two to eight young animals. At birth it creates a nest in which the newborns spend their first days of life. They are weaned at around three months but stay with their mother for around a year. Sexual maturity occurs at around 18 months.
Man and bearded pig
In some regions of Southeast Asia, the bearded pig is used as food. The people know the migration times and routes of the animals and can make rich prey once a year due to the large hiking groups. The heavy hunting of the bearded pig has led to a considerable decimation of the population so that the species is listed as endangered ("vulnerable") by the IUCN .
Systematics
A distinction is made between two subspecies: the Borneo bearded pig, the nominate form ( Sus barbatus barbatus ), lives on Borneo and the curly bearded pig ( Sus barbatus oi ) on Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. A former third subspecies, the Palawan bearded pig , is now considered a separate species.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- DE Wilson, DM Reeder: Mammal Species of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Web links
- Sus barbatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008 Posted by: K. Kawanishi, M. Gumal, W. Oliver, 2008. Accessed January 2 of 2009.
- Bearded pig on Ultimate Ungulate with photos and distribution map
- Bearded Pig on Animal Diversity Web