Bearded Pig

Subspecies

The two subspecies of this pig are:

• S. b. barbatus (the nominate subspecies)
• S. b. oi (the western bearded pig)

As traditionally defined, the nominate is from Borneo. The species is widely ranging in Borneo. It is also found in Tawi-Tawi province at the tip of the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines, although possibly has been extirpated, and S. b. oi is from the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Genetic evidence suggests this is incorrect, and S. b. oi is better limited to Sumatra, leaving bearded pigs from both Borneo and the Malay Peninsula in the nominate subspecies. Those from Bangka Island appear somewhat intermediate between the two subspecies.

The Palawan bearded pig (Sus ahoenobarbus) has formerly been considered a subspecies of the bearded pig. However, as indicated by its genetic and morphological distinctness, under the phylogenetic species concept (which does not use subspecies) it needs to be elevated to full species status; while the situation is less clear under other species concepts (as not all S. barbatus populations have been restudied in modern times), the presently available information seems to favor full species status for S. ahoenobarbus in any case.

In captivity

The San Diego Zoo was the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to breed them.

As of January 2016, it is held in the London Zoo, Berlin Zoo, Gladys Porter Zoo, National Zoo of Malaysia (Zoo Negara), Zoo Taiping, Singapore Zoo, Capital of Texas Zoo, and Southwick's Zoo. Unfortunately, the animals at Hellabrunn Zoo were euthanized in 2017 because of old age, and there is only one male left at Berlin Zoo, 3 individuals (1 castrated male and 2 females) left at London Zoo and one individual left at Gladys Porter Zoo and the individuals were replaced by red river hogs in Southwick's Zoo as of 2017, which means that the species will likely disappear soon from European and American zoos.