it was a good info
thanks
madhuri
--- On Mon, 11/17/08, Kiran Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Kiran Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [ButterflyIndia] Pygmy Hog Centre, Assam
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Flowers of India" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL
PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Sumit" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED], "Natural History of South Asia - General discussion and
research" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL
PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Monday, November 17, 2008, 8:21 AM
This is a bit out of context but worth mentioning to those whose interest spans
other forms of wildlife!
- - -
On our way back from Arunachal Pradesh and Kaziranga National Park , Assam we
visited the Pygmy Hog Centre in Guwahati , Assam .
Goutam Narayan started the conservation breeding programme for Pygmy Hogs,
Porcula salvania, in Assam since these are the smallest and rarest wild suid in
the world. Today, they are only found in a small population in Manas Tiger
Reserve, Assam .
With the assistance of the Forest Dept and financial/technical support from
Gerald Durell Foundation, Darwin Initiative, ECO Systems India, etc., Goutam
Narayan and his team have successfully bred Pygmy Hogs in captivity. The
conservation centre has several open enclosures, all inter-connected with
natural vegetation and soil rich in worms, beetles, roots, etc. We were able to
see these tiny adults and some of the young digging/burrowing with their noses,
as well as ‘nests’ made of dried grasses. The enclosures are covered on top
with wire mesh and the bars have an electric current running through them to
prevent ingress of leopards and birds of prey. In the centre of the enclosures
are the breeding cells which are covered and accessed by few humans (gloves,
feet pre-soaked in potassium permanganate) . Visitors in this area are usually
shunned, which is a good thing.
Only very recently, the Pygmy Hog genus was reverted to Porcula from the Sus
genus since DNA studies found it different in several aspects from wild boar
genus.
What is interesting to learn is that although these Pygmy Hogs are small it
takes 2 adults to hold them as they can wriggle out since their bodies are
bullet-shaped bodies with almost no neck. They are very tough and in the wild
they move extremely fast, the only thing that one can see is the top of the
grasses moving indicating their presence. The trained keepers have a very tough
time catching them in the small enclosures.
We also saw a pre-release area behind Eco-Camp Tourist Lodges in Nameri
National Park . This is a huge enclosure and adults are re-located here for
acclimatisation prior releasing them in their original habitats.
So do visit this Centre located outside Guwahati (on route to the airport) and
get a first-hand idea of breeding programmes our own Indian researchers are
doing. You would be surprised to know a lot of viable ideas sprang from this
centre and are currently being implemented in other similar programmes in the
world.
If you plan a visit you may email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] com
The world lost the Dodo forever. India shouldn’t lose her Pygmy Hogs!
Cheers,
Kiran Srivastava
Mumbai
[EMAIL PROTECTED] net
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Enjoy
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
