Pygmy+Hog

= Pygmy hog =

Pygmy Hogs are an critically endangered species of small wild pig. It's natural habitat once were found across India, Nepal, and Bhutan but now only found in Assam. The current population is about 150 individuals or maybe even fewer.

Biology:
Pygmy hogs are about 55 to 71 cm long and stand at 20-30cm with a tail of about 2.5cm. Pygmy hog weight 6.6-11.8 kg. Their fur is dark brown. They live for about 8 years, becoming sexually mature at 1-2 years old. They breed seasonally before the monsoons. In the wild they make small nests by digging a small trench and lining it with vegetation. During the heat of the day they stay within these nests.

Diet:
They feed on roots, tubers, insects, rodents, and small reptiles.

**Main Predators:**
Pythons, raptors, and potentially large carnivores. Infants may be depredated by mongooses, small cats, and crows

Status and Threats: [[image:http://endangeredanimalsisaac.webs.com/photos/Endangered-Animals/pygmy%2520hog%25202.jpg align="right"]]
The Pygmy hog is the only species which still lives from its Genus of //Porcula.//So its extinction would result in the loss of a unique evolutionary branch of pigs. They used to be widespread in the tall, wet grasslands in the southern Himalayan foothills from Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through Nepal and north Bengal. Pygmy hogs are found in tall grass habitats, usually near water. Although once found throughout the southern base of the Himalayas The continuing decline of the pygmy hog is due to the modification and elimination of its limited habitat by human settlement, agricultural encroachment, overgrazing by domestic livestock, commercial forestry, flood control projects, and civil unrest among Assamese ethnic groups.

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Arttu, Aleksi