📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sujithkr
Science
Pygmy Hogs Reintroduced to Manas National Park After Three Decades
✍️ Assam Times
🗓 26 Aug 2026, 07:03 AM
👁 2
After a 30‑year absence, a group of pygmy hogs has been released back into Manas National Park in Assam as part of a long‑term conservation effort.
A small cohort of critically endangered pygmy hogs was released into Manas National Park in Assam, marking the species' first return to the area after three decades of absence. The animals had been bred in captivity at a dedicated wildlife breeding centre before being transported to the park for soft release.
Forest Department officials said the reintroduction aligns with a broader strategy to restore the species' historic range in the Brahmaputra floodplains. The pygmy hog, the world’s smallest wild pig, was declared extinct in the wild in the early 2000s, prompting intensive captive‑breeding programmes.
The release was carried out under controlled conditions, with the hogs allowed to acclimatise in a fenced enclosure before full integration into the forest. Monitoring teams will track their movements and health to assess the success of the program and guide future releases.
Conservationists view the event as a positive step toward rebuilding a viable wild population, which could eventually lead to the species being downgraded from its critically endangered status.
Forest Department officials said the reintroduction aligns with a broader strategy to restore the species' historic range in the Brahmaputra floodplains. The pygmy hog, the world’s smallest wild pig, was declared extinct in the wild in the early 2000s, prompting intensive captive‑breeding programmes.
The release was carried out under controlled conditions, with the hogs allowed to acclimatise in a fenced enclosure before full integration into the forest. Monitoring teams will track their movements and health to assess the success of the program and guide future releases.
Conservationists view the event as a positive step toward rebuilding a viable wild population, which could eventually lead to the species being downgraded from its critically endangered status.