The Indian Express ·
From 6 to 194: How Assam is bringing the pygmy hog back to the wild
Once close to extinction, the pygmy hog is making a comeback in Assam, with 194 animals bred and reintroduced and more releases planned in Manas. Here's closer look at its conservation success story.
A tiny wild pig that once teetered on the brink of extinction is slowly making its way back into Assam’s grasslands.
The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania), India’s only endemic wild pig and one of the world’s rarest mammals, has been at the centre of a decades-long conservation effort. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently posted about the effort on X, highlighting the species’ journey “From the brink of extinction to a new beginning in the wild.”
The numbers behind this comeback are striking: six pygmy hogs have become 194.
