Bornean bearded pig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bornean bearded pigTemporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Present
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Bearded pig at Bako National Park, Borneo | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Subspecies | |
|
S. b. barbatus |
|
 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Chaetorhinus barbatus |
The Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus) is a special kind of wild pig. You might also hear it called the Sunda bearded pig or just bearded pig. It's easy to spot because of the long, stiff hairs that look like a beard on its face! Some even have cool tassels on their tails.
These pigs live in Southeast Asia. You can find them in places like Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and some smaller islands, including parts of the Sulu archipelago. They love living in thick rainforests and wet mangrove forests. Bornean bearded pigs usually live together in family groups. They can start having babies when they are about 18 months old.
Different Kinds of Bearded Pigs
Scientists have identified two main types, or subspecies, of the Bornean bearded pig:
- S. b. barbatus
- S. b. oi (also called the western bearded pig)
The S. b. barbatus subspecies is mostly found in Borneo. It also lives in the Tawi-Tawi province in the Philippines, though there might not be many left there. The S. b. oi subspecies lives in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.
There's another pig, the Palawan bearded pig (Sus ahoenobarbus), which used to be thought of as a type of Bornean bearded pig. But now, many scientists believe it's a completely separate species because it looks and is genetically different.
Bearded Pigs in Zoos
The San Diego Zoo in the United States was the first zoo in the Western world to successfully breed Bornean bearded pigs. This was a big step for protecting them.
In January 2016, you could find these pigs in several zoos around the world. These included the London Zoo, Berlin Zoo, Gladys Porter Zoo, National Zoo of Malaysia (Zoo Negara), Zoo Taiping, Night Safari, and Southwick's Zoo.
Sadly, the number of Bornean bearded pigs in European and American zoos has gone down a lot. For example, the animals at Hellabrunn Zoo were put to sleep in 2017 because they were very old. The last Bornean bearded pig in Europe, named Neo, passed away at the Berlin Zoo on February 28, 2024. This means these special pigs are becoming very rare in zoos outside of Asia.
Images for kids
-
At the San Diego Zoo, the United States of America
-
Bearded pigs at Philadelphia zoo
