The Javan warty pig (''Sus verrucosus''), also called Javan wild pig, is an

even-toed ungulate Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other t ...

in the family

Suidae Suidae is a family (biology), family of Even-toed ungulate, artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 Extant taxon, extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domes ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n islands

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Bawean Bawean () is an List of islands of Indonesia, island of Indonesia located approximately north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately in diameter and ...

, and is considered extinct on

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

. It is listed as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

since 1996.

Characteristics

The Javan warty pig is black, with some rufous parts on the head and the belly. It has three pairs of facial warts; the largest pair is below the ears, the second under each eye, and the smallest pair above the upper canines. It has a nuchal and dorsal crest that gradually becomes shorter towards the tail. Its tail does not have a terminal tuft. Young are uniformly coloured. Facial warts vary in size and grow with age. Males reach a weight of about , whereas females weigh only about . It is therefore the biggest suine on the island.

Distribution and habitat

The Javan warty pig occurs in Leuweung Sancang Nature Reserve and Meru Betiri National Park in southern Java, Nusakambangan Nature Reserve on the

Nusa Kambangan Nusa Kambangan is an island located in Indonesia, separated by a narrow strait from the south coast of Java. The closest port is Cilacap in Central Java province. It is known as the place where the fabled ''wijayakusuma'', which translates as th ...

island and in a protected area on the

island. It lives at elevations below in grassland and secondary forest.

Ecology and behaviour

The Javan warty pig is mainly a solitary creature, but groups of three or four individuals have been sighted. It is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...

. When the warty pig is startled, its mane stands erect. If the animal is fleeing from a predator, its tail is erect and curved towards its body. When a group of individuals is frightened, the recorded alarm call sounds like a shrill whistle.

Reproduction

September to December is thought to be the mating season of the Javan warty pig.

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

lasts four months. The piglets are born in a nest and nursed for the following three to four months. On average, the species lives to be eight years of age, with a few captive individuals living to 14 years of age. The specific mating structure of the Javan warty pig has not been observed in the wild. A historic source from the 1940s indicated a litter size of three to nine piglets born between January and March. Between 2003 and 2005, captive Javan warty pig in Surabaya Zoo had litters of two to four piglets, born between March and August.

Conservation

According to the IUCN Red List, ''S. verrucosus'' was first declared vulnerable in 1988 and listed as endangered in 1996. A drastic 53% drop in the population occurred from 1982 through 2006. The species is believed to be still declining. A recent study estimated a population of 172–377 individuals, making the Javan warty pig one of the rarest pig species. The main threat to this species is habitat encroachment by humans. Agriculture is a large influence in the decline of the Javan warty pig. These pigs are also killed by farmers who spot the pigs raiding their crops at night. Since this is a large animal, sports hunters also consider killing the animal a challenge and see it as a trophy. An interesting threat to this species is actually occurring naturally. The closest relative to ''Sus verrucosus'' is the banded pig (''Sus scrofa vittatus''). This species shares similar habitat ranges as the Javan pig. This species threatens the Javan pig not only through resource competition, but also by cross-mating and creating hybrids of ''S. verrucosus'' and ''S. scrofa''. The most recent conservation project, through the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, aims to capture healthy Javan warty pigs and breed them in captivity. The offspring of this program are then supposed to be released into protected habitats. This method of reintroduction of the offspring will ensure the long-term survival of the species. One of the problems with this project is finding true ''S. verrucosus'', not hybrids, which brings up another goal of the program, molecular mapping. Scientists will extract DNA from the wild pigs and record their genetic code to separate hybrids from true ''S. verrucosus''. Along with this project are plans to educate the locals about the importance and endangerment of this species. The locals sometimes comment that they cannot distinguish the banded pig from the Javan pig, and with education, this confusion can be reduced.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1353785 Sus (genus) Mammals of Indonesia Mammals described in 1832 Endemic fauna of Indonesia Fauna of Java Taxa named by Heinrich Boie Taxonomy articles created by Polbot