An adorable rare piglet has been born to Chester Zoo with a striped back as it becomes one of a few hundred of its species left.
The latest arrival, unnamed for now, is one of the Visayan warty pigs, originally from the Philippines, at the zoo.
Females are pregnant for almost four months.
The Visayan warty pig receives its name from the three pairs of fleshy "warts" present on the visage of the boar.
Biologists speculate that the reason for the warts is to assist as a natural defense against the tusks of rival pigs during a fight. The boars also grow stiff spiky hair.
These forest-dwelling pigs are listed as critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN).
The species has suffered a drastic population decline in the wild with 200 estimated to be left.
Agricultural expansion and logging have devastated vast amounts of their native habitat.
The pigs are also hunted for their meat and persecuted for raiding crops - making them one of the rarest wild pigs on the planet.
Chester Zoo said: 'Baby piglets are incredibly energetic and playful, and so the whole group will certainly be kept very busy over the coming months!
'Visayan warty pigs aren't just your average pig. During breeding season, males develop a long, protruding mane from their head, giving them a mohawk-like hairstyle.'
The latest arrival, unnamed for now, is one of the Visayan warty pigs, originally from the Philippines, at the zoo.
Females are pregnant for almost four months.
The Visayan warty pig receives its name from the three pairs of fleshy "warts" present on the visage of the boar.
Biologists speculate that the reason for the warts is to assist as a natural defense against the tusks of rival pigs during a fight. The boars also grow stiff spiky hair.
These forest-dwelling pigs are listed as critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN).
The species has suffered a drastic population decline in the wild with 200 estimated to be left.
Agricultural expansion and logging have devastated vast amounts of their native habitat.
The pigs are also hunted for their meat and persecuted for raiding crops - making them one of the rarest wild pigs on the planet.
Chester Zoo said: 'Baby piglets are incredibly energetic and playful, and so the whole group will certainly be kept very busy over the coming months!
'Visayan warty pigs aren't just your average pig. During breeding season, males develop a long, protruding mane from their head, giving them a mohawk-like hairstyle.'
Music: Color Of Your Face - NoMBe
Source: Daily Mail, Wikipedia
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