Visayan warty pig

The Visayan warty pig is a critically endangered species endemic to six of the Visayan Islands in the Philippines. Tragically, this unique pig is on the verge of extinction, primarily due to habitat loss and hunting. It is believed that they no longer exist on four of these islands, but small populations continue to survive on Negros and Panay.

These pigs are easily recognizable by the fleshy "warts" on their faces and their spiky hair. They live in groups and have a diet that includes roots, tubers, and fruits, although they occasionally consume cultivated crops.

There are different subspecies of the Visayan warty pig, with the Negros warty pig being the subspecies still found on Negros and Panay. To prevent the complete disappearance of these pigs, several conservation efforts are in place. Breeding programs in institutions such as Rotterdam Zoo and San Diego Zoo are part of these initiatives.

The primary threats to the Visayan warty pig include habitat destruction due to commercial logging and agriculture, hunting, and genetic contamination from interbreeding with domestic pigs. To address these issues, various zoos in Europe and the United States are maintaining captive populations to aid in conservation.

These breeding programs and captive populations are crucial for increasing the numbers of this critically endangered species and ensuring they do not vanish forever.