15 pygmy hogs, the smallest endangered species of wild pigs, have returned to their land in India. Jersey’s Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has been working in collaboration with Manas National Park in Assam in the Kuribeel grasslands. After decades of conservation, the rare breed has been released on the same location from where their journey began. Here’s a closer look at Jersey’s Wildlife Conservation Trust’s release of pygmy hogs in India.
Pygmy Hogs return to India after successfully breeding and conservation
The pygmy hogs were on the verge of extinction, and were thought to be exterminated until 1971, when some of them were found sheltering from a grassland fire in a neighbouring tea plantation, per the Jersey Evening Post. The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust actively involved themselves in 1996 to safeguard the species, and six of the pygmy hogs wer taken into captivity from the North Eastern state. Now, post the success in breeding and releasing over 200 pygmy hogs over the years, they are back to their origin land. In the next fiver years, the conservation programme plans to release over 80 pygmy hogs, and rebuild the wild population of approximately 300 of the species by 2040, per the outlet.
Authorities emanate confidence in conservation and monitoring of wild species
“The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme is one of our longest running projects here at Durrell and this milestone release shows the power of our long-term conservation efforts,” Rebecca Brewer, chief executive officer of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, said, before adding, “We are so proud to lead this collaborative initiative that has saved the pygmy hog from extinction and helped the wild population to grow and thrive in their historic home once again.” According to BBC, the director of conservation programme, Dr Parag Jyoti Deka, said that they would continue to strengthen the strategies for the post-release monitoring.
