Pygmy Hog - Sus salvanius

Pygmy Hog - Sus salvanius (Hodgson, 1847).

IUCN STATUS CATEGORY Critically Endangered

HABITAT Appears to be dependent on early successional riverine tall grassland communities. In pristine state this is intermixed with a wide variety of herbaceous plants and early colonising shrubs and young trees.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Now restricted to the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and the small Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary. Both sites are in north-west Assam, India.

CURRENT POPULATION The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is thought to have a population of a few hundred Pygmy Hogs; the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary may have fewer than 50 Hogs.

SIZE Head and body length 65cm. Shoulder height 25cm.

WEIGHT Males 8.5kg. Females are somewhat smaller.

AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY Unknown.

NORMAL DIET Feeds mainly on roots, tubers, but also eats eggs, young birds, insects and reptiles (Mallinson, 1971).

NORMAL LIFESTYLE Lives in small family groups of 5 to 20 individuals.

PREVIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Previously distributed throughout the narrow alluvial tract, which extends south of the Himalayan foothills from north-eastern Uttar Pradesh in the east, through southern Nepal and northern-west Bengal to north-western Assam and adjacent parts of extreme south Bhutan.

REASONS FOR DECLINE The loss and degradation of habitat to human settlements, agricultural encroachment, commercial forestry and flood control schemes.

CURRENT THREATS Surviving tall grasslands are reduced to small, discrete patches within declared reserve boundaries. This habitat is mostly subjected to continued attrition or exploitation, through commercial afforestation programmes, overgrazing by domestic herbivores, and thatch grass harvesting. Virtually all remaining grasslands are burnt every year, either by Forest Department personnel or by herdsmen and thatch collectors. Most of the burning occurs at the beginning of the dry season. The loss of the grassland habitat exposes Hogs to hunting from neighbouring villages. In February 1989 armed extremists of the All Bodo Student's Union (ABSU) invaded the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary allowing the entry of numerous wildlife and timber poachers. At present most of the core area of the Sanctuary is controlled by the ABSU and therefore remains out of control of the relevant authorities.

CONSERVATION PROJECTS The Pygmy Hog is protected by Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. In 1981 the Barnadi Royal Forest was upgraded to a Wildlife Sanctuary to provide better protection for the Pygmy Hog and Hispid Hare Caprolagus hispidus. A three-point Action Plan for the Pygmy Hog submitted to the relevant authorities in the Assam States and Indian Central Government by the IUCN/SSC Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group, was agreed in full in December 1987. The conservation measures proposed by the Specialist Group include restoring the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, conducting field surveys (with a view to the identification and protection of any possibly surviving populations), assessment of selected areas for the future reintroduction of translocated or captive bred animals and encouraging an understanding and appreciation of this species, and its potential importance as a genetic resource.

SPECIAL FEATURES The Pygmy Hog is thought to be the sole host of the Pygmy Hog Sucking Louse Haematopinus oliveri, which owing to the status of its host, is also accorded Endangered categorisation in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

REFERENCES

Mallinson, J.J.C. 1971. The Pygmy Hog Sus salvanius (Hodgson) in Northern Assam. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society. 68(2): 424-433.

Oliver, W.L.R. (ed). 1993. Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos: Status Survey and Conservation Plan. IUCN/SSC Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group, IUCN/SSC Hippo Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland. 202pp.

Oliver, W.L.R. 1991. A Review of the Status of the Sanctuaries for the Pygmy Hog: A Report on a Visit to N.W. Assam, 1990. The Dodo: Journal of The Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. 27: 62-70.

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