Nine captive-bred pygmy hogs were released in western Assam’s Manas National Park on October 1, 2024.
- It was the fifth such exercise by the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) since 2020.
- This effort aims to reintroduce the endangered pygmy hog in the 500 sq. km Manas National Park to stabilise its population.
- The PHCP started in 1996 with two males and two females captured from the Bansbari Range of the Manas National Park. The captive-bred pygmy hogs were first reintroduced in the wild in 2008.
- The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is the world’s smallest and rarest wild pig most threatened by extinction.
- The present range of Sus salvanius (commonly known as the pygmy hog) is found only in the reserve forest belts of the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern Assam, India.
- However, they were once found in throughout northern India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Pygmy hogs live in tall, dense grasslands that have a mixture of shrubs and trees.
- Within their home range of approximately 25 hectares (61 acres), family groups live in high dome-shaped nests made of grass and other vegetation.
