Govind Tekale
Jersey Zoo has opened a new state-of-the-art facility for its critically endangered Visayan warty pigs, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of its successful pygmy hog conservation program in India. The facility upgrade represents a significant step in protecting two of the world’s most threatened pig species.
The new enclosure, funded by the Government of Jersey’s Fiscal Stimulus Fund, provides expanded living space for four Visayan warty pigs: Tré, Diosa, Babs, and Penelope. The facility features a large den, multiple stalls, holding yards, and an extensive paddock where the pigs have already been actively rooting.
“This new house gives the pigs more outdoor space to roam, as well as provides more opportunity for our visitors to get up close with the species,” says Rebecca Brewer, CEO at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, which operates Jersey Zoo.
The timing of the opening aligns with a major milestone in pig conservation. Durrell is celebrating three decades of work with the pygmy hog in India, where their efforts have helped prevent the extinction of the world’s smallest pig species. Since 1996, the program has successfully bred 877 pygmy hogs in captivity and reintroduced them into four protected grasslands in Assam.
The conservation story of both pig species highlights the severe impact of habitat loss on wildlife. Visayan warty pigs now survive on just two islands in the Philippines – Panay and Negros – after widespread habitat conversion for agriculture and housing drove them from their traditional range. Similarly, pygmy hogs were once thought extinct until a small group was discovered in 1971 sheltering from a grassland fire in a tea plantation.
The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme operates as a collaboration between multiple organizations, including Durrell, the IUCN/SSC Wild Pig Specialist Group, the Assam Forest Department, and several Indian government agencies and conservation groups like the Aaranyak. The program stands as India’s first conservation breeding and reintroduction initiative of its kind.
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To mark the 30-year milestone, Durrell has organized its first Founder’s Trek, where 20 participants will walk 60 kilometres from Gerald Durrell’s birthplace in West Bengal to the grasslands of Assam. The trek will pass within view of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain while raising funds for ongoing conservation work.
“Through our work over the last 30 years, we have helped establish a wild population for this incredibly rare pig and provided them with a future,” Brewer notes, reflecting on the pygmy hog program’s achievements.
The dual celebration at Jersey Zoo – the new facility opening and the conservation milestone – represents significant progress in protecting endangered species. However, both pig species continue to face challenges in their natural habitats, underlining the ongoing importance of conservation breeding programs and habitat protection efforts.
