Ecology, Conservation and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries

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Part II: Species Accounts

Figure 22.1 Pygmy hog distribution (source: IUCN 2008, Red List of Threatened Species). (A simplified black and white version of this figure will appear in some formats.

For the colour version, please refer to the plate section.)

Body measurements: Shoulder height: 23–30 cm (male),

20–22 cm (female). Head and body length: 61–71 cm (male),

55–62 cm (female). Tail length: 2–3 cm. Body mass: 8–10 kg

(male), 6–8 kg (female), 150 g (newborn young). Dental for-

mula: I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 (×2) = 44. In males over three

years the canines are large, curved, and protruding. The num-

ber of chromosome is 2n = 38. The lifespan in the wild may

vary between 6 and 8 years and in captivity may reach 11 years.

Sexual maturity is reached at 18–21 months; however, captive

pygmy hogs may become sexually active at 10–12 months.

In addition to extreme reduction in body size, vestigial tail

and possession of only three pairs of mammae, the external fea-

tures distinguishing Porcula from Sus are relatively short limbs,

longer hindlimbs in relation to forelimbs, short ears, moderate

head size, and short and rounded back; all of which produce a

marked streamlining of the body. Other features include rela-

tively short medial false hooves, a snout disc perpendicular to

the axis of the head, and the absence of warts or gonial whorls.

Adult males have a robust look, a prominent testicular bulge and

exposed tushes.

The pelage is medium brown laterally to blackish brown

along the mid-dorsal line. The hair is longest and coarsest

behind the shoulders. A facial band of darker, short and dense

hair extends from the bridge of the nose to the posterior mar-

gin of the eyes in adult males. Hair is absent under and behind

the ears and very short and sparse on the tail (Figure 22.2). The

undersides of the neck, the inside of the legs, abdomen and groin

have light, short, and very sparse hair, and there is no under-

hair. The skin of the head, back and tail is grey–brown, and the

underparts are much paler (Figures 22.3 and 22.4). The babies

are faintly striped when they are about 2–4 weeks old but often

these longitudinal stripes are indistinct.

Habitat

Pygmy hogs are well adapted to and dependent on undisturbed

patches of grassland dominated by early successional riverine

communities, typically comprising dense, tall grass sward inter-

mixed with a wide variety of herbaceous plants and early colo-

nizing shrubs and young trees. These grasslands are a feature

of the successional changes from primary colonizing grasses on

the new alluvium deposited by changing water courses, through

to deciduous riverine forests and, in drier areas, the Shorea

robusta climax. Tall grass may also form an understorey dur-

ing later stages of the succession, particularly near rivers. In

relatively undisturbed areas, these grasslands are maintained by

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