Endangered pygmy hogs released in India
DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUSTA wildlife conservation trust has released 15 of the world's smallest and rarest pigs in India.
Jersey's Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has been working in the Kuribeel grasslands of Manas National Park in Assam.
The trust said in1996, six pygmy hogs were taken from the grasslands to help set up a captive breeding programme nearby to safeguard the species from extinction.
Rebecca Brewer, the trust's chief executive said it was "proud" to lead the initiative that had "saved the pygmy hog from extinction and helped the wild population to grow and thrive in their historic home once again".
DURRELL WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUSTThe trust said the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme was set up to protect the pigs which were once thought to be extinct.
It said they were rediscovered in 1971 when a group was found sheltering from a grassland fire in a neighbouring tea plantation.
The trust said it had successfully bred and released 194 hogs.
It said it had also worked for eight years to restore the grassland, where there have been no signs of a wild population for about a decade.
Over the next five years, it said it hoped to release about 80, with the goal of rebuilding a thriving wild population of 300 by 2040.
'Remarkable conservation achievement'
Dr Parag Jyoti Deka, director of the conservation programme said it would continue to strengthen its post-release monitoring strategies.
"The most recent release involving camera-trap and sign surveys along with a radio-telemetry tracking of five pygmy hogs to assess their behaviour, survival, and habitat use after reintroduction," he said.
Deka added every additional step taken would allow them to "learn and create a better, stronger future for this fascinating species".
Dr Vinay Gupta, principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden of Assam said the reintroduction was a "remarkable conservation achievement" and such efforts "are vital for restoring grassland ecosystems and safeguarding threatened species".
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