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Visayan Warty Pig
We have a family of Visayan warty pigs living at Newquay Zoo. May and Randy live with their three piglets. Kevin Bacon and Amy Swinehouse were born in 2022 and the youngest piglet, Ernie, was born in 2023. You will find the warty pigs near to our Secret Garden.
Class:
Mammals
Order:
Artiodactyla
Family:
Suidae
About the Visayan warty pig
Found in the past throughout the Visayan Islands, these pigs are now extinct in at least 98% of their former range. The few surviving populations are concentrated in remaining forest areas on the Negros and Panay islands of Negros in the Philippines.
The warty pigs eat fruit, roots an tubers but they have developed a taste for cereal crops and cultivated vegetables.
Conservation
The Visayan Warty Pig Conservation Programme was established in1991 with the aim of reintroducing the species on the island in the Philippines where it has been lost. Captive breeding and rescue centres have been established on Negros, with zoos worldwide, including Newquay Zoo, contributing to the captive population.
Habitat destruction, over hunting for sport, reprisals for raids on crops and inadequate protection have resulted in the dramatic decline and likely extinction of the warty pig in the wild. There are now as few as 200 left in the wild.