One of the world's rarest animals has been born at world-renowned Chester Zoo.
Chester Zoo announced the arrival of a Visayan warty piglet on Christmas Eve, born to mum Gwen, 9, and dad Tre, 10. The male piglet joins a family of five.
The Visayan warty pig, native to the Philippines, is among the rarest animals in the world, designated a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The category indicates the most severe threat level before extinction in the wild.
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Chester Zoo was the first zoo in the UK to care for Visayan warty pigs, a species that gets its name from three pairs of fleshy warts on the boar’s face.
Experts at Chester Zoo say that agricultural expansion and logging have devastated vast amounts of their native habitat in the Philippines. They are also hunted for their meat, which has led to them becoming one of the rarest wild pigs on the planet.
Little is currently known about these animals in the wild and experts say that by working closely with them in the zoo, they can transfer knowledge to further support the animals in the wild.
Mark Brayshaw, Curator of Mammals at Chester Zoo said: “It’s fantastic to see the birth of any animal, but when they’re critically endangered and fighting for survival in the wild, it makes it even more special. Baby piglets are incredibly energetic and playful, and so the whole group will certainly be kept very busy over the coming months!
“Visayan warty pigs aren’t just your average pig. During breeding season, males develop a long, protruding mane from their head, giving them a mohawk-like hairstyle. Both mum Gwen and dad Tre are named after punk rockers Gwen Stefani and Tre Cool as a result of this iconic look, and I’m sure it won’t be long until we’ve decided a suitable name to follow in that tradition."
Mark added: “Every piglet is a vital addition to the breeding programme and will help champion the plight of this fascinating, charismatic species.”