Fifteen of the world's rarest and smallest pigs are back in the wild in India after being released this month into the Kuribeel grasslands of Manas National Park in Assam — a milestone in one of the longest-running conservation programmes in South Asia.
The pygmy hogs, each weighing only a few kilograms and standing barely 25 centimetres at the shoulder, were reintroduced by Jersey's Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in partnership with the Government of Assam and local wildlife authorities. It is the latest chapter in a story that began nearly three decades ago and that at one point looked as though it might end in extinction.
The pygmy hog was long believed to be extinct until a small group was accidentally discovered in 1971, sheltering from a grassland fire on a tea plantation. That chance rediscovery kicked off a global scramble to protect the species. In 1996, six pygmy hogs were carefully taken from the grasslands to seed a captive breeding programme run by Durrell and its partners at a dedicated research and breeding centre nearby.
Since then, the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme has released 194 hogs into the wild — a slow, painstaking numbers game complicated by the pig's extreme habitat requirements. Pygmy hogs live only in tall, dense alluvial grasslands, an ecosystem that has been shrinking across northeast India as land is converted for agriculture, plantations and infrastructure.
"We are proud to have led this initiative," said Rebecca Brewer, chief executive of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. The programme, she said, has "saved the pygmy hog from extinction and helped the wild population to grow and thrive in their historic home once again."
The latest release was chosen with unusual care. Before any hogs were reintroduced, Durrell and its partners spent eight years restoring the Kuribeel grasslands, which had shown no signs of a wild pygmy hog population for roughly a decade. Native grass cover was rebuilt, controlled burns were reintroduced to mimic the fire cycles the species relies on, and monitoring plots were established to track wildlife recovery. Only when the grasslands were judged ready did the hogs make the journey.
Each released animal has been fitted for post-release monitoring, and five have been outfitted with radio transmitters so researchers can track their behaviour, survival and habitat use in fine detail. Camera traps and sign surveys will fill in the picture around them.
"The most recent release involves camera-trap and sign surveys along with radio-telemetry tracking of five pygmy hogs to assess their behaviour, survival, and habitat use after reintroduction," said Dr Parag Jyoti Deka, director of the conservation programme. "Every additional step allows us 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, called the reintroduction "a remarkable conservation achievement," adding that such efforts "are vital for restoring grassland ecosystems and safeguarding threatened species."
The partners have set out a clear roadmap for the years ahead. Over the next five years, they aim to release around 80 more hogs across suitable habitat in Assam, working toward a self-sustaining wild population of 300 pygmy hogs by 2040. That may still sound like a modest number, but for a species that once numbered in the low double digits and had been erased from most of its former range, it represents a very real comeback.
Beyond the pigs themselves, the effort is quietly rebuilding a wider ecosystem. Alluvial grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in the Indian subcontinent, and they support not only pygmy hogs but also the greater one-horned rhinoceros, hispid hares, Bengal floricans and swamp deer. Restoring habitat for one small, easily overlooked species has ripple effects for many others.
For a programme that started with six wild-caught animals and a lot of hope, seeing another 15 hogs disappear into the grasslands of Manas is a genuinely optimistic marker of progress. As Brewer put it, the goal was never just to keep the pygmy hog alive in captivity — it was to give it back the grasslands it lost. Little by little, they are doing exactly that.
