india

Durrell’s activities in India are concentrated on the recovery of the pygmy hog. As well as being the world’s smallest wild pig, the pygmy hog is also the rarest and most threatened. The species is a strict endemic of terai grassland, a narrow belt of alluvial grassland south of the Indian Himalayas. Terai grassland is one of the most biodiversity rich ecoregions in India and holds important populations of large mammals such as tiger and one-horned rhinoceros. The grasslands also host a rich diversity of ungulates, supporting 5 species of deer alone.

Terai grassland is fed with nutrients from the Monsoon floods which inundate many of the areas. This supports rich growth in many tallgrass species. However these productive grasslands also make very good arable land and most have been converted to agriculture. The remaining grassland fragments are primarily restricted to an extensive network of protected areas.

The Pygmy Hog was thought to have been dying out from significant pressures on its habitat, primarily from uncontrolled grass burning but also from expanding agriculture, livestock grazing, commercial forestry and thatch grass harvesting. However it was rediscovered in 1971. Since then Durrell found at least eight populations in Assam. But seven of these populations had disappeared by the early 1990s and only one wild population of just a few hundred hogs had survived in Manas National Park, which is located in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. However, the continued practice of indiscriminate dry season burning and livestock grazing within the National Park threaten even this last population.

Durrell initiated a collaborative conservation programme with both the IUCN Specialist Group for pigs and the Assam Forest Department (AFD). A conservation breeding facility and a field research project to investigate the current grassland management practices was also established. Six wild hogs were captured from Manas in March 1996 and brought to the breeding facility at Basistha near the Assam capital. The breeding was a significant success and within five years the captive population rose to 77 in 2001. Once a safety net population had been created attention is now focussed on a reintroduction. However for this to succeed there has to be sufficient suitable habitat and local communities and conservation workers have to be trained. Therefore Durrell is also conducting extensive training and awareness-raising work with local communities. Re-introductions are scheduled to place in 2008.