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Classification
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Sus
barbatus
Bearded pig
Taxonomy
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photographs
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General Characteristics
Body Length:100-165 cm / 3.3-5.5 ft.
Shoulder Height: 72-85 cm / 2.4-2.8 ft.
Tail Length: 20-30 cm / 8-12 in.
Weight: 150 kg / 333 lb.The sparsely haired hide is dark brown to grey in colouration. Thin, yellowish whiskers on the side of the face over the bridge of the nose form the "beard" after which this pig is named. On the long face are two pairs of warts, the front pair usually covered by the beard. The body of the bearded pig is the slenderest found among pigs, and is supported by thin legs. Unique among the family, the tail has a two-rowed tuft, much like an elephant's.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: About 4 months.
Young per Birth: 2-8Before giving birth, the pregnant sow leaves her herd and scouts out a thicket in which to build a nest out of fern fronds, twigs, and sometimes palm fronds. In this nest, which can be up to 2 m / 6.6 feet in diameter and 1 m / 3.3 feet high, the sow gives birth to her striped piglets, which will stay with her for the next year.
Ecology and Behavior
Groups often follow gibbon families or macaque troops, feeding on the fruit which, once gnawed on, is allowed to fall to the ground. For most of the year a group will stay in one area. However, bearded pigs undertake an annual migration, and are the only suids that do so. These migrating herds may be composed of over 100 animals and are led by an old male. Travelling at night on wide, worn paths which have probably been used for centuries, the pigs retreat into thickets to rest during the day. During this migration the pigs become less shy, and are thus easier for hunters (including humans) to prey on.Family group: A small group consisting mother and piglets, which often come together in groups up to 200.
Diet: Fruits, roots, earthworms, carrion.
Main Predators: Tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, python, humans.
Distribution
Rainforests, secondary forests, and mangrove thickets in Sumatra, Malaysia, and other surrounding islands.
Range Map (Redrawn from Caldecott et al., 1993)
Conservation Status
While as a species the bearded pig's status is stable, S. b. ahoenobarbus and S. b. oi are classified as low-risk, near threatened subspecies by the IUCN (1996).
Remarks
Sus (Latin) a pig. Barbatus (Latin) bearded: referring to the bristles covering the snout.
Literature Cited
Caldecott, J. O., R. A. Blouch, and A. A. Macdonald. 1993. The Bearded Pig (Sus barbatus). In Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos: Status Survey and Action Plan. Edited by W. L. R. Oliver. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. pp. 136-145.Schmidt, C. R. 1990. Pigs. In Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Edited by S. P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill. Volume 5, pp. 20-47.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder [editors]. 1993. Mammal Species of the World (Second Edition). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Available online at http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/
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© Brent Huffman, www.ultimateungulate.com |
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