SC-NBWL recommends adding pygmy hog to list of critically endangered species

Why in News?
The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has recommended the inclusion of the pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) under the Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species and Habitats of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme to strengthen conservation efforts.

About Pygmy Hog 

• The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is the smallest and one of the rarest wild pig species in the world.
• It is endemic to India and is currently found only in the tall alluvial grasslands of northwestern Assam.
• Its present natural range is restricted to the reserve forest belts of the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is one of the few mammals that construct their own nests, building grass nests with a roof for shelter and breeding.
• The species depends on dense, early-successional tall grassland ecosystems, making it highly vulnerable to habitat degradation.

Conservation Efforts

• The pygmy hog had virtually disappeared from the wild by the 1960s.
• In 1995, the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) was launched by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in collaboration with the IUCN/SSC Wild Pig Specialist Group.
• The programme began with two male and two female pygmy hogs captured from the Bansbari Range of Manas National Park.
• Captive-bred pygmy hogs were first reintroduced into the wild in 2008.
• The programme is regarded as one of India’s successful examples of captive breeding and species reintroduction.

Source: TH

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