GUWAHATI, May 21 - Fourteen captive-bred pygmy hogs were released in the Manas National Park by the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) recently. The animals were maintained in the pre-release centre near the Nameri National Park for six months.
This is being viewed as a milestone in the effort to save one of the most endangered mammals, as the original wild stock for the conservation breeding project was captured from Manas about 24 years ago.
The iconic species now returns to its home, where the original population still survives, albeit with a drastic decline in their numbers.
During their translocation to Manas, Assam State Zoo-cum-Botanical Garden DFO Tejas Mariswamy and Nameri National Park range officer Debashish Buragohain were present.
With this, the number of pygmy hogs reintroduced into the wild by PHCP has reached 130 (62 males, 68 females), which is more than their current global wild population. In 1996, six hogs (2 males, 4 females) were captured from the Bansbari range of Manas National Park to start the breeding programme.
Later, a young male rescued in 2001, and another male and two females captured in 2013 from the same range, joined the captive breeding stock.
�Reintroduction of captive hogs in the wild began in 2008. Initially, three Protected Areas in their past distribution range in Assam were selected. Over the next decade, 35 hogs were released in Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, 59 in Orang National Park, and 22 in Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary. The reintroduction in Orang has been particularly successful as they have multiplied almost two-and-a-half times in number, and spread to areas far from the release locations,� a PHCP official said.
It has been estimated that with the release of these 14 hogs in the Rupahi grasslands of Bhuyanpara range of Manas National Park, the total number of reintroduced hogs and their progeny may reach 200 in the four release sites.
�About 60 hogs will be released over a five-year period in the Bhuyanpara range from where they had disappeared,� he said.
According to Chief Wildlife Warden and Additional PCCF, Assam, MK Yadav, �Amidst the crisis of African Swine Fever, we decided to secure the future of the pygmy hogs. One of the first things was to release them in a secure place such as Manas�.
Manas field director Amal Chandra Sarma said the old glory of Manas may return with the release of these hogs and this may attract more visitors. Manas has some of the largest remaining grassland blocks in the sub-Himalayan grassland ecosystems. Found only in these tall dense alluvial grasslands, pygmy hogs are incredibly shy and are almost never seen. PHCP will continue to maintain about 70 captive hogs at its two centres in Assam and breed more hogs for release.
