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Red River Hog
Paignton Zoo is home to Winnie and Humphrey and their four piglets named Jack, Freddie, Mona, and Imbe.
You’ll find them opposite the giraffes, where they can often be seen rooting, wallowing, and sunbathing together as a close-knit family group.
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Family:
Suidae
About the red river hog
With their bright russet coats, bold white facial markings, and impressive tufted ears, red river hogs are among the most striking members of the wild pig family. Native to the forests, swamps and grasslands of central and western Africa, they are highly adaptable and thrive in a range of habitats close to water. Their long, sensitive snouts are perfectly designed for rooting through soil and leaf litter in search of food.
They are social animals, typically living in small family groups led by a dominant male. After a gestation period of around 120 days, females give birth to litters of three or four piglets, which are born with distinctive pale stripes to help camouflage them in dense vegetation.
Red river hogs are omnivores, feeding on roots, fallen fruit, grasses, bulbs and invertebrates, and will occasionally take small animals or carrion.
Conservation
Although red river hogs are not currently considered globally threatened, they face increasing pressure in the wild. Hunting for the bushmeat trade and conflict with farmers, when hogs forage in agricultural land, are among the main challenges affecting wild populations.