Chapter 16: Mindoro warty pig Sus oliveri (Groves, 1997)163
Figure 16.1 Sus oliveri, holotype,
head-skin, FMNH 148194 from
Mayapang, Rizal, Mindoro Occidental.
Photo by L. R. Heaney, copyright Field
Museum of Natural History.Taxonomy
Sus oliveri Groves (1997), type specimen Field Museum of
Natural History (FMNH) 148194 Mayapang, Rizal, Mindoro
Occidental, Philippines (Figure 16.1).
This taxon was recognized as a separate species from
Philippine warty pig Sus philippensis according to Groves (2001).
It is known from four skulls (three mature and one immature)
and a mounted head collected in 1993 now in the Field Museum
of Natural History, Chicago, which constitutes the holotype
(Grubb 2005; Oliver 2008).
The species was named after British biologist and artist
William L.R. Oliver renowned worldwide as a champion of wild
pig conservation and a former Chairman of the Pigs and Peccaries
Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN.
Subspecies and Distribution
Recognized as a distinct species by Groves (2001), Lucchini et
al. (2005), and Grubb (2005). Formerly treated as a subspecies of
S. philippensis (Heaney et al. 1998, 2010). There is no recognized
subspecies, but it is closely related to the two subspecies of the
Philippine warty pig – S. p. philippensis and S. p. mindanensis
(Groves 1997, 2001).
The species is endemic to the island of Mindoro where it
was previously widely distributed and common (Figure 16.2
and Figure 16.3). Although still reported as common by
local Mangyan (indigenous) and non-indigenous communi-
ties, encounters with the species are becoming less frequent.
Most of the unconfirmed reports as well as tracks and visual
observations by researchers are limited to areas adjacent to or
inside forests. Recent observations have occurred during NOE
Conservation exploratory surveys (2012–2015), Field Museum
of Natural History (FMNH) mammal surveys (2013–2015), and
Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. (MBCFI)
site assessment surveys (2011–2013) in Aruyan-Malati
Tamaraw Reservation Area, Balagit Valley, Bilog Sapa creek,
upper Bongabong watershed, Busuanga River, Kinarawan River,
Mapad Valley, Mongpong River and tributaries, Mt. Calavite
Wildlife Sanctuary, Mt. Halcon, Mt. Iglit, Mt. Talafo, Mt. Tulala,
Mt. Wood, Siburan Forest, and Tusk Peak (Lit et al. 2011; Balete
et al. 2013a, 2013b, 2015; Tabaranza et al. 2013; MBCFI 2014;
Schütz 2014, 2015a, 2015b, unpublished).
Caution is raised regarding the use of distribution or pres-
ence data from ethnobiological surveys and interviews with
locals. The methodology for ethnobiological survey may require
a revision of the terminology used because the term ‘baboy
damo’ (wild pig in the local dialect) is often used by locals to
refer to both pure-strain warty pigs and feral hybrid pigs. Data
from such sources may require validation through other sur-
vey methods to minimize confusion between pure-strain and
hybrid pig reports (E. Schütz, personal communication 2015).Descriptive Notes
Three mature skulls are described as more elongated and down-
pointing with higher braincase and more flat-topped than in
the Philippine warty pig (S. philippensis). Based on skull meas-
urements, the species appears small and similar in size to the
Philippine warty pig. The head skin of the holotype has sparse,
dark brown or black bristly hair, usually longest along the spine
and over the neck and back of head. Tusks and ‘warts’ (projec-
tions of skin-covered bone on the snout) are usually conspicu-
ous (Heaney et al. 2010; Meijaard et al. 2011). Groves (1997)
describes the head skin to have a black crown tuft mixed with
straw-coloured hairs, and no forward-directed component; pre-
ocular warts are well-developed with straw-coloured gonial tufts.Habitat
Very little information is available.
This species was formerly found in forests (primary and sec-
ondary) as well as most other habitat types, from sea level to
upper montane and mossy forest areas. It now occurs in low-
land, mid-montane and dry-molave forests and savanna grass-
lands (Gonzalez et al. 1999), but mostly restricted to higher
elevations above 800 m a.s.l. (Oliver 2008; Heaney et al. 2010).
Recent surveys observed tracks and wallows in pri-
mary and secondary forests, creeks, river banks, grassland,
swamps, and indigenous upland crop fields (kaingin) from
240 to 1700 m a.s.l., with lower frequency at lower altitudes
(Figure 16.4).Movements and Home Range
No available information..01812:38:32