Warts and all: critically endangered warty piglet on show in Cornwall

Visitors to Newquay zoo can now catch a glimpse of Visayan warty piglet born in February

Press Association

Saturday 26 March 2016 18.47 GMT

Last modified on Saturday 26 March 201619.13 GMT

Zookeepers are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered warty piglet.

The Visayan warty piglet was born in February at Newquay zoo in Cornwall, where it is now on show.

Warty pigs originate from the Visayan Islands in the Philippines, where they live in dense forested areas.

The species, which is in rapid decline, is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

John Meek, curator of animals at Newquay zoo, said: “I am really thrilled we have successfully bred a warty piglet, as the species is in dire straits and without intervention from us they are in danger of becoming extinct.

“We had to keep it inside for the first few weeks as it’s been so wet, but the piglet is thriving and visitors can now catch a glimpse of it out and about.”

Habitat destruction and over-hunting have been blamed for the warty pig population almost becoming extinct in the wild.

Little is known about the pigs, which were only recognised as a species in their own right in 1997.

Male warty pigs are much larger than females and develop long crests and manes – similar to a mohawk hairstyle – in the breeding season.

Source

First ever pictures of endangered Spotted Deer

Two of the world’s most endangered mammals living in the wild, the Visayan Warty Pig and Spotted Deer, have been photographed for the first time.

A team of British scientists used specialist photography to capture the species in the almost impenetrable, dense forests on the island of Negros, central Philippines.

Biologists say the rare, diminutive pigs are almost invisible to the eye due to the thickness of the forest.

During their “very tough” expedition earlier this month, the team, climbed nearly 5000 feet (1,500m) as they set up 20 “camera traps”.

While allowing the team of scientists, aided by local experts from the Philippines, to maintain their “minimum impact” expedition rules, it also meant they could photograph the animals in their natural environment without scaring them away.

The team spent more than 4000 hours monitoring the traps during their two-week trek, in a bid to capture the creatures.

The “interior” of the forest where the animals are known to live measures only about 2000 feet in length, on a plateau, and was virtually impossible to access.

Such was area’s isolation that the researchers described it as being akin to “Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World".

Dr Neil D'Cruze, who led the research, said on Thursday that the traps allowed images to be taken without disturbing the local environment.

"The traps allowed us to see animals we knew were there, but never laid eyes on during our time in the forest," he said.

Continued:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9230731/First-ever-pictures-of-endangered-Spotted-Deer.html