Please note: Winter Illuminations is still scheduled to go ahead this evening but we are closely monitoring the weather. Keep an eye on our socials for the latest. The park remains open during the day but some areas will be closed. For safety reasons the Christmas Fair will remain shut.

Visayan Warty Pig (CR. David Roberts) (1)

Visayan Warty Pigs

Status

Critically Endangered
Size

Up to 185 kg
Threat

Habitat loss
Distribution

Panay & Negros Islands
Diet

Omnivore

The Visayan Warty Pigs are one of the most critically endangered pigs in the world.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park has been working with the EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) as part of the global conservation of the Visayan Warty Pig. Hunting and deforestation is pushing this at risk species to complete extinction. This forest dwelling pig is already extinct on 4 of the 6 Philippine islands they once inhabited. A dramatic 98 per cent of their former range is not depleted.

These pigs often stay in small groups with the male living away from his female partner and their litter. Male Visayan warty pigs have fantastic spiky hair with an iconic crest. Very little is known about these pigs in the wild as numbers are so limited. The European breeding programme hopes to save this critically endangered species from extinction.