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Classification
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Sus
celebensis
Celebes pig, Sulawesi warty pig
Taxonomy
General Characteristics
Body Length: 80-130 cm / 2.6-4.3 ft.
Shoulder Height: 70 cm / 2.3 ft.
Weight: 40-70 kg / 88-154 lb.The coat is usually black, often with yellow and/or white hairs intermixed, although some specimens are reddish- brown or yellow in colour. The undersides lighten to creamy yellow with age, and their is always a dark dorsal stripe. There is a striking yellow band which encircles the snout, and a distinctive tuft of hair is found on the forehead. Young are born with stripes along the length of their bodies, which they lose after about 6 months of age. Adult males have three pairs of facial warts, the preorbital pair being the largest, but these are not fully developed until 8 years of age. The legs are relatively very short, and the back is short and slightly convex. The tail is long and simply tufted.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: About 4-5 months.
Young per Birth: 2-3, in rare cases up to 8
Life span: Over 10 years.Although breeding may occur at any time during the year, there is a peak in February, with most births occurring in April or May. Females build large nests in which to have their young by piling vegetation over a shallow depression about 2 meters / 6.6 feet in length.
Ecology and Behavior
The Celebes pig is primarily diurnal. Most feeding activity occurs during the daylight hours, being concentrated in the early morning and late afternoon. Where these pigs have been allowed to run feral, they often interbreed with other pigs (especially S. scrofa), producing hybrids which are often hunted and/or domesticated. Domesticated pigs on Papua New Guinea, known by many as 'Papua pigs' are often raised in the homes of natives, feeding from their owners breast. When adult, they live a semi-wild life, foraging in the forests during the day and voluntarily returning to the settlements at night.Family group: Mixed family groups.
Diet: Roots, fruit, leaves, shoots, carrion, insects.
Main Predators: Humans.
Distribution
Most habitats, from rainforest to swamp, up to an altitude of 2,500 m / 8,200 ft. on Indonesian islands.
Range Map (Redrawn from MacDonald, 1993)
Conservation Status
The Sulawesi warty pig is not listed by the IUCN (1996).
Remarks
In its domesticated form, this pig has spread throughout Indonesia, returning to a semi-natural state when allowed to run feral. The tentatively described species Sus timoriensis is actually a feral form of this pig found among the Lesser Sunda island chain. Sus (Latin) a pig. -ensis (Latin) suffix meaning belonging to: this pig inhabits, although is not restricted to, the island of Celebes (Sulawesi).
Literature Cited
MacDonald, A. A. 1993. The Sulawesi Warty Pig (Sus celebensis). In Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos: Status Survey and Action Plan. Edited by W. L. R. Oliver. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. pp. 155-160 Available online at http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/pphsg/Contents.htmSchmidt, 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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