Wildlifeof Nepal
Pygmy Hog
Wild Pigs
Photo: (c) kalyanvarma, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Porcula salvania
Basic stats
Habitat
Tall, dense, wet alluvial grassland up to 300m
Range
Now only north-east India; formerly the Himalayan foothills through southern Nepal
Size
Height 20–25cm; length 55–71cm
Weight
6.6–9.7kg
The pygmy hog is the smallest pig species, standing only 20 to 25cm tall and 55 to 71cm long, and weighing 6.6 to 9.7kg. The skin is grayish brown and the coat of blackish-brown bristles. The head is sharply tapered, with a slight crest of hair on the forehead and neck, and it usually has no facial warts (Wikipedia, general species account).
It was once widespread in the tall, wet grasslands of the southern Himalayan foothills from Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through southern Nepal. It is now endemic to north-east India. Habitat destruction led to it being thought extinct in the early 1960s, until a small population was found fleeing a fire in Assam in 1971. Nepal's 2011 list classes it as Regionally Extinct, so it is not seen in Nepal today.
Quick answers
- What habitat does the Pygmy Hog live in?
- Tall, dense, wet alluvial grassland up to 300m
- Where is the Pygmy Hog found?
- Now only north-east India; formerly the Himalayan foothills through southern Nepal
- How big is the Pygmy Hog?
- Height 20–25cm; length 55–71cm
- How much does the Pygmy Hog weigh?
- 6.6–9.7kg