Chapter 18: Bearded pig Sus barbatus (Müller, 1838)181
Borneo shares the threats of deforestation and fragmenta-
tion, but also suffers from overhunting in many areas (Bennett &
Gumal 2001). The bearded pig has been the most commonly
hunted animal for at least 15,000 years in Borneo, largely due
to its status as a cultural keystone species for Dayak commu-
nities (Hose 1926; Medway 1964; Harrison 1998; Chin 2001;
Corlett 2007). Bennett et al. (1999) also found that over 80 per
cent of hunted biomass consisted of bearded pig meat and there
were strong preferences for their meat compared to alternatives,
including domesticated pigs. As a result, Borneo’s bearded pigs
have been locally exterminated by indigenous peoples using
blowpipes, as was reported near Mahakam Lakes in present-
day East Kalimantan (Endert 1925), and more recently, using
shotguns (Harrison 2011). However, recent development and
urbanization seems to have reduced Borneans’ per-capita wild-
life consumption. For example, Bennett et al. (2000) found
that between 67.1 per cent and 90.0 per cent of remote forest-
dwelling people’s meals contained wild meat, which decreased
to 49.1 per cent of loggers’, 36.8 per cent of traditional hunter-
cultivators’, and 4.1 per cent of plantation workers’ meals.
However, in Sumatra, Luskin et al. (2014) described how wildlife
harvest increased following improved connectivity from forests
to urban centres where there was demand for wild meat. Thus,
in Borneo where there is a strong preference for bearded pigs’
meat, similar trade developments could increase the threat of
over-hunting to supply urban demand in the future, or for sport.
There is little protection of bearded pigs throughout their
range. However, because the Muslim majorities in Sumatra
and Peninsular Malaysia do not consume pigs because it is for-
bidden by the Halal diet, hunting has not been a serious threat
(Meijaard 2002; Luskin et al. 2014). In Peninsular Malaysia,
only Chinese hunters target pigs where they remain, which
can be hunted with a licence for meat or for pest control; it
is unclear if this is common (Kawanishi et al. 2006). On the
contrary, in Malaysian Borneo where hunting is common, the
Wild Life Protection Ordinance does not limit hunters from
harvesting pigs for personal consumption, but does prohibit
the trade of wild meat, animal parts, and live animals (Chin
2001). In Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra there are no known
restrictions on hunting bearded pigs. To sustainably man-
age bearded pig hunting in Borneo, measures such as reduc-
ing hunting in protected areas, limiting licences for shotguns,
take and no-take zones based on bearded pig habitat prefer-
ences, and a harvest quota system that is tied to bearded pigs’
population cycles are urgently needed (Clayton et al. 1997;
Robinson & Bennett 2013).
Another looming threat is how climate change could alter
phenological cycles and shift or eliminate bearded pigs’ sea-
sonal food sources. In combination with forest fragmenta-
tion which inhibits their movements to important rare foods,
their remarkable foraging strategy may become impossible or
obsolete, causing the extinction of the iconic migratory and
nomadic populations. This could also have important conser-
vation repercussions because the now-extinct migratory pop-
ulation from the southern Lampung province in Sumatra had
relatively smaller skulls compared to local sedentary bearded
pigs (Groves 1981). This indicates that migrating groups differin both behaviour and genetics. Hypothetically, a well-planned
forest reserve network could mitigate some of those issues, but
that option has been lost in most lowland regions. It is unclear
how to improve connectivity between remaining forests, mak-
ing this topic a high priority for research. As described in the
Feeding Ecology section, the historic and current movement
routes, timing, and triggers of bearded pig migrations have not
been properly documented or understood, which would be a
first step. While expensive and time-consuming, a series of GPS
tracking studies is needed, and these should attempt to use well-
made Kevlar vests to hold tracking units, as opposed to collars
which are notoriously ineffective for many pig species.
The ecological impacts of losing migratory and nomadic
bearded pigs could be drastic and far-reaching, especially in
Borneo where bearded pigs are undoubtedly a keystone species.
In Borneo, seed predation (the killing of seeds, not dispersal) by
bearded pigs exhibits a strong filter of the reproductive cycles
of forest tree communities (Curran & Leighton 2000; Curran &
Webb 2000). In some forests where bearded pigs have been lost
in Borneo, there has been a dramatic increase in the densities of
seedlings and saplings, which has led to a decline in their diver-
sity (Harrison et al. 2013). However, outside of Borneo, wild
boars may partially replace bearded pigs’ ecological role.
Understanding the key factors underlying bearded pig
population dynamics and movements is urgently needed to
develop effective reserve networks and promote sustainable
management.Status in Captivity
Bornean bearded pigs (S. barbatus barbatus) of Bornean
descent are held in Gladys Porter Zoo, Hellabrunn Zoo, London
Zoo, Lowry Park Zoo, National Zoo of Malaysia (Zoo Negara),
the San Diego Zoo, Singapore Zoo, Southwick’s Zoo, and Zoo
Taiping (ISIS 2011). On the contrary, there is only one captive
programme of S. barbatus barbatus originating from Peninsular
Malaysia, which is at Singapore’s Night Safari Zoo (17 individu-
als stemming from four original captures in Johore), and it
appears that there are no captive populations of S. barbatus oi.
Due to their unique physical appearance and prolific repro-
duction, they are excellent candidates for zoos and captive
breeding programmes. Captive breeding programmes should
be immediately initiated for the Sunda/western bearded pig
(S. barbatus oi). Due to the gradient of genetic diversity ranging
from western Sumatra to the Riau Archipelago to Peninsular
Malaysia to Borneo, it may also be worthwhile for breeding pro-
grammes to capture and retain local and regional individuals to
preserve genetic distinctiveness.Acknowledgements
This work was supported with funding by the ZGAP Project-
code: 1.Sus barbatus. IDN.2014 and Los Angeles Zoo and
Botanical Gardens and Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association
(GLAZA) conservation grant programme and Jeff Holland,
National Geographic Society from Committee for the Research
and Exploration #9384-13, and USA-Indonesia Fulbright pro-
gramme to M.S. Luskin. We wish to thank Matthew Linkie and.020Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, on 04 Dec 2017 at 12:41:45