Archive · 5 Sep 2026
Assam Returns World’s Smallest Pig to the Wild
The pygmy hog is a very small wild pig found in northeastern India.
In 1996, only six animals were taken from Manas to help save the species through careful breeding.
Their descendants have now been bred and released back into the same grasslands.
Fifteen hogs returned to Kuribeel in June 2026.
No confirmed signs of pygmy hogs had been recorded there for nine years.
Conservationists have now bred and released 194 hogs across Assam.
The animals need tall grasslands for food, shelter and raising their babies.
Protecting the hog also helps protect these important grasslands.
Scientists are studying whether the species can eventually return to parts of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
Fifteen captive-bred pygmy hogs were released in June 2026 into Manas National Park’s Kuribeel grasslands.
The animals descended from six pygmy hogs captured there in 1996 for a conservation breeding programme.
The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme has bred and reintroduced 194 hogs across Assam, including 78 in Manas.
Conservationists say the species depends on tall alluvial grasslands threatened by habitat loss, invasive plants and human disturbance.
The programme plans to release about 80 more hogs in Manas and build a wild population of roughly 300 by 2040.
- Who
- The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme, Assam Forest Department and partner conservation organisations released captive-bred pygmy hogs.
- What
- Fifteen pygmy hogs were returned to the Kuribeel grasslands as part of efforts to rebuild a wild population.
- When
- The release took place in June 2026, nearly 30 years after six animals were captured in 1996.
- Where
- Kuribeel grasslands in Manas National Park, Assam, India.
- Why
- The release aims to restore a species threatened by near-extinction and protect the tall grassland habitat it depends on.
- Species
- Pygmy hog, Porcula salvania
- June release
- 15 animals: nine females and six males
- Released across Assam
- 194 pygmy hogs
- Released in Manas
- 78 animals since 2020
- Original conservation group
- Six hogs captured in 1996
- Future releases
- About 80 more planned in Manas over five years
- Long-term target
- A wild population of about 300 in Manas by 2040