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Newquay Zoo Breeds Worlds Rarest 3 Little Pigs
Three very unusual and extremely rare pigs have recently been born at Newquay Zoo. A breeding pair of Visayan Warty Pigs have just produced three adorable piglets. The Visayan Warty Pig gets its name from the three sets of fleshy ‘warts’ found on the boar's face. It is thought that these toughened makings are used as protection from the tusks of competing males during mating season.
The male Visayan Warty Pigs also bear a stiff, spikey ‘hair-do’ giving them an endearing character.
These critically endangered animals are endemic to the central Philippines making them extremely rare. Habitat loss, food shortages and hunting have led to the Visayan Warty Pig being extinct in four of the six regions it was once found.
Newquay Zoo participates in the European breeding programme for these animals, Zoo Director Stewart Muir commented, “The arrival of these little piglets is just delightful. They are especially cute, but their endangered status and possible extinction in some regions of their native home means that this litter is all the more precious.”
The Zoo population of Warty Pigs worldwide is still quite small and the new little pigs will contribute to the survival of the species. The piglets will stay with Newquay Zoo probably until next year before finding new homes recommended by the breeding programme.
