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Classification
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Sus salvanius
Pygmy hog
Taxonomy
General Characteristics
Body Length: 55-71 cm / 1.8-2.3 ft.
Shoulder Height: 20-30 cm / 8-12 in.
Tail Length: 2.5 cm / 1 in.
Weight: 6.6-11.8 kg / 14.6-26.2 lb.The hide is a dark brownish black colour, and is covered by coarse, dark hair. Young are born a grayish-pink colour, but become brown with the yellow longitudinal stripes seen in many piglets at about 11 days of age. The streamlined body is round and close to the ground, with short, stubby legs and virtually non-existent tail. The head is triangular-shaped and sharply tapered, with a slight crest of hair on the forehead and nape of the neck. In adult males the upper canines poke slightly out the sides of the mouth.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: About 100 days.
Young per Birth: 2-6, generally 3 or 4
Sexual Maturity: At 13-33 months.
Life span: Up to 7.5 years.Breeding is very seasonal, with all available data indicating a sharp birth peak from late April to early June - just before the onset of the monsoons.
Ecology and Behavior
Foraging occurs for 6-10 of the daylight hours, with shelter being sought out only during the very peak of midday heat. Unlike other pigs, the both sexes of the pygmy hog create and use vegetation nests at all times of the year. A trough is first dug into the earth using the hooves and snout, with the displaced soil being piled up around the edge. Surrounding grasses are then bent down to line the nest, with more being torn up and brought to the nest in the mouth to be used as bedding. Using their small bodies, the inside of the nest is hollowed out to form a cave to keep out the elements and keep in body heat. In total, the nest may incorporate 17 kilograms / 37 pounds of vegetation, and measure 75 cm by 110 cm / 30 by 44 inches, with a height of about 20 cm / 8 inches. The nest is entered head first, but the animals always turn around once inside so as to face the entrance. The nests are used by the entire family providing close contact between individuals. This facilitates the transfer of ticks and lice - including one, the pygmy hog louse Haematopinus oliveri, which is found only on this species. Regularly used paths are formed through the tall elephant grass, and are travelled along in single file, with an adult at the front and rear of the column.Family group: Groups of 4-6 individuals consisting of a few females and their young, males usually solitary.
Diet: Roots, grasses, leaves, fruit, insects, carrion.
Main Predators: Dhole, python, humans.
Distribution
Savanna-type terrain broken by forests and elephant grass jungles in Assam.
Current and Historical Range Map (Redrawn from Oliver and Roy, 1993)
Conservation Status
The pygmy hog is currently classified as a critically endangered species by the IUCN (1996), with a remaining population estimated to contain 100-150 individuals.
Remarks
After its initial discovery, reports of this tiny ungulate slowly decreased, and by the late 1950's, the pygmy hog was believed to have vanished forever. However, after several unconfirmed sightings, nine bona fide pygmy hogs were captured in Assam in 1971. Although a breeding program was organized in the 1980's, the results of this have faded - with the survival of the pygmy hog remaining uncertain. Sus (Latin) a pig. Salvanius: belonging to Saul Forest in Nepal.
Literature Cited
Oliver, W. L. R., and Roy, S. D. 1993. The Pigmy Hog (Sus salvanius). In Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos: Status Survey and Action Plan. Edited by W. L. R. Oliver. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. pp. 121-129. 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.
Shuker, K. 1993. The Lost Ark: new and rediscovered animals of the Twentieth Century. London: HarperCollinsPublishers.
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/
Additional Resources
Anon 1971. Pigmy hog and hispid hare. Oryx, J. Fauna Preserv. Soc., XI (2-3): 103-107.Anon 1985. Choosing the 24 most endangered species. Newsletter, Species Survival Commission, 5: 17-23.
Bell, D. J. and Oliver, W. L. R. 1991. The burning question, and other problems relating to tall grassland management and the conservation of endangered species in the northern Indian sub-continent. (In press).
Bell, D. J., Oliver, W. L. R. and Ghose, R. K. 1991. The hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus. In: J. A. Chapman and J. E. Flux (eds): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland: 128-136.
Government of India 1972. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, New Delhi.
Government of India 1983. National Wildlife Action Plan. Dept. of Environment, New Delhi: 28pp.
Griffith, L. D. 1978. The search for the pigmy hog in Nepal. Nature Ann., Nepal Nature Conserv. Soc.,11:41-45.
Groves, C. P. 1981. Ancestors for the Pigs: Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Genus Sus. Tech. Bull. No. 3, Dept. Prehistory, Res. Sch. Pacific Studies, Australian Nat. Univ.: 96pp.
IUCN 1988. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K.
Mallinson, J. J. C. 1971. The pigmy hog, Sus salvanius (Hodgson) in northern Assam. J. Bombay Nat Hist. Soc., 68 (2): 424-433.
Mallinson, J. J. C. 1977. Breeding of the pigmy hog, Sus salvanius (Hodgson) in northern Assam. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 74 (2): 288-289.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1979a. The doubtful future of the pigmy hog and the hispid hare: pigmy hog survey report, part I. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 75 (2): 341-372.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1979b. Observations of the biology of the pigmy hog (with a footnote on the hispid hare): pigmy hog survey report, part II. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 76 (2): 115-142.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1980. The Pigmy Hog: the Biology and Conservation of the Pigmy Hog, Sus (Porcula) salvanius, and the Hispid Hare, Caprolagus hispidus. Jersey Wildl. Preserv. Trust, Spec. Scien. Rep. No. 1: 80pp.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1981. Pigmy hog and hispid hare: further observations of the continuing decline (or, a lament for Barnadi, and a good cause for scepticism). Dodo, J. Jersey Wildl. Preserv. Trust, 18: 10-20.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1984. The distribution and status of the hispid hare, Caprolagus hispidus: the summarised findings of the 1984 pigmy hog/hispid hare field survey in northern Bangladesh, southern Nepal and northern India. Dodo, J. Jersey Wildl. Preserv. Trust, 21: 6-32.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1985. The distribution and status of the hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus), with some additional notes on the pigmy hog (Sus salvanius) - a report on the 1984 field survey. (Unpubl.) rep. to Wildlife Preservation Trust: 94 pp.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1990a. A reprieve for Barnadi. (Unpubl.) rep. to IUCN: 3pp.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1990b. The troubles in Manas. (Unpubl.) rep. to IUCN: 5pp.
Oliver, W. L. R. 1991. Monograph on the pigmy hog, Sus salvanius. In: H. Fra‰drich and H.-G. Klos (eds.), Proc. of the Pigs and Peccaries Workshop at Zoo Berlin, 12-15th July 1990: Bongo, Berlin: 21-38.
Pandya, N. P. 1990. Report on an initial survey of pigmy hog, Sus salvanius, and hispid hare, Caprolagus hispidus, and their habitat in Arunachal Pradesh, India during April 1990. (Unpubl.): 25pp.
Rands, M., Brown, P. and Newton, P. 1979. University of East Anglia Nepal Expedition, 1978/1978. (Unpubl.): 79pp.
Ranjitsinh, M. K. 1972. A note on the future conservation plan for the pigmy hog (Sus salvanius) and hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus; Pearson, 1839). (Unpubl.) D.O. No. 682/DSF 1023/72, Govt. of India.
Schmidt, C. R., Mallinson J. J. C. and Weilenmann, P. 1978. International co-operation for captive breeding of the pigmy hog, Sus salvanius. Int. Zoo News, 25/3 (150): 28-31.
Tessier-Yandell, J. 1971. The pigmy hog, Sus salvanius. Cheetal, 14 (3): 23-28.
Wells, S. M., Pyle, R. M. and Collins, N. M. 1983. The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland: 365-367.
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