Dwarf boar

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Dwarf boar
Pygmy hog in Assam breeding center AJT Johnsingh.JPG

Pygmy boar ( Porcula salvania )

Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Artiodactyla (Artiodactyla)
Subordination : Pig-like (Suina)
Family : Real pigs (Suidae)
Genre : Porcula
Type : Dwarf boar
Scientific name of the  genus
Porcula
Hodgson , 1848
Scientific name of the  species
Porcula salvania
Hodgson, 1848

The dwarf boar ( Porcula salvania , Syn . : Sus salvania ) is a species of mammal from the family of real pigs (Suidae). It is the smallest species of pig and is highly endangered.

description

The males reach a head body length of 65 to 70 centimeters, the females come to 55 to 62 centimeters. The shoulder height is 20 to 30 centimeters, the tail is a short stub 2 to 3 centimeters in length. The weight of the males is 7.7 to 11.8 kilograms and the females 6.6 to 7.6 kilograms. The males are more robust and also have longer canine teeth than the females. The body is rounded and the legs are relatively short. The fur is gray-brown in color, on the underside it is a little lighter.

distribution and habitat

Pygmy boars are native to northern South Asia , their original range included northeastern India as well as southern Nepal and Bhutan . Today, however, they only live in two wildlife parks in the Indian state of Assam . Their habitat are dense, tall grasslands, which are often covered with trees and bushes.

Way of life

Pygmy boars live in family groups of usually four to five animals made up of one or two females and their offspring. The adult males are solitary outside of the mating season, but sometimes maintain loose contact with their families. They are more active during the day, but rest during the midday heat. Startled dwarf boars reach high running speeds; however, the naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson , who first described them scientifically, also reports that they fearlessly attack troublemakers.

They are the only pigs to use sleeping nests all year round. To do this, they dig a hollow that is padded with grass and other plant material. Nests are shared among the family group, which also helps reduce heat loss on cold nights.

food

Pygmy boars, like most pigs, are omnivores. They eat roots, tubers, fruits and other plants, but also insects, eggs, small vertebrates and carrion. They spend around six to ten hours a day looking for food. While searching for food, they rummage through the ground in the typical pig-like manner. While searching for food, they keep in contact with other animals in their group by making grunts.

Reproduction and rearing of young

After a gestation period of around 100 days, three to four young are usually born. Reproduction is seasonal and peaks at the onset of the monsoons in late April to May. The young animals reach a size of 16 to 19.5 centimeters and a weight of 133 to 250 grams at birth. The skin initially has a grayish-pink color. After about 11 days the young get a brown-yellow striped fur. The rearing is done by the females of the family group. Sexual maturity occurs at 13 to 33 months, the maximum age of these animals can be 10 to 12 years.

Systematics

The dwarf boar was scientifically described for the first time in 1848 by the British naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson and assigned to the genus Porcula, which was introduced at the same time as the first description . Later the species was assigned to the genus Sus as a sister species of the wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) . An analysis of the mitochondrial DNA published in 2007 showed, however, that the dwarf wild boar is not closely related to the wild boar and must be assigned to a separate genus. In the ungulate volume of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World , a standard work on mammalogy , the dwarf boar is again assigned to the genus Porcula as the only species .

Pygmy boars and humans

Danger

Pygmy boars are an endangered species. The reasons for this are, on the one hand, hunting for their meat, and on the other hand, the destruction of the habitat through settlement, overgrazing , agricultural impairment, slash and burn and flood control projects. For these reasons, populations plummeted, and by the late 1950s the pygmy boar was believed to be extinct.

In 1971 the species was rediscovered by John Tessier Yandell, a secretary from Assam Wildlife Management, in the Manas National Park in Assam , and a small population was also found in the Barnadi Game Reserve. Despite ongoing protective measures, the number of sexually mature animals is estimated at less than 250 specimens. The IUCN classifies the dwarf wild boar in the category " critically endangered ".

In 1977, three specimens of the ectoparasitic louse Haematopinus oliveri were found in the fur of dwarf boars , which has not been detected since then.

Zoo keeping

The pygmy boar has only rarely been seen in western zoos. In the 19th century the Berlin and London zoos kept these animals. In 1976, the Zurich Zoo received the couple Cal and Cutta , who became very well known. Cutta became the mother of five newborns in 1977, but died when the boys were three months old. However, the young were raised. In 1978 the last female, Dira , died as a result of a difficult birth.

Today the only owner worldwide is a breeding station in India supported by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Thirty breeding pairs are kept there. By 2016, 100 offspring had been released into the wild.

literature

  • JJC Mallinson: The Pigmy Hog Sus salvanius in Northern Assam. In: Journal of The Bombay Natural History Society. 68 (2), 1971, pp. 424-433.
  • Annemarie and Christian Schmidt: The book of animal families: pigs and peccaries. Children's book publisher Lucerne, 1991, ISBN 3-276-00105-5 .
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
  • Tej Kumar Shrestha: Wildlife of Nepal - A Study of Renewable Resources of Nepal Himalayas. Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 2003, ISBN 99933-59-02-5 .
  • SM Funk, SK Verma, G. Larson, K. Prasad, L. Singh, G. Narayan, JE Fa: The pygmy hog is a unique genus: 19th century taxonomists got it right first time round. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45, 2007, pp. 427-436.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Shrestha, p. 186
  2. ↑ Shrestha, p. 186 and p. 187
  3. ↑ Oliver, William LR (1980). The Pigmy Hog: the Biology and Conservation of the Pigmy Hog, Sus (Porcula) salvanius , and the Hispid Hare, Caprolagus hispidus . Special Scientific Report No. 1. Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
  4. ^ Funk, Stephan M .; Sunil Kumar Verma; Greger Larson; Kasturi Prasad; Lalji Singh; Goutam Narayan & John E. Fa (2007). The pygmy hog is a unique genus: 19th century taxonomists got it right first time round . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (2): 427-436. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.08.007
  5. ^ Erik Meijaard, Jean-Pierre d'Huart & William Oliver: Family Suidae (Pigs) in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 2. Hoofed Mammals. Lynx Editions, 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pages 290-291.

Web links

Commons : Pygmy Boar ( Sus salvanius )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files