A new baby animal at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, looks like it will have visitors squealing with delight.Officials at the Boston zoo said a red river hog piglet made its exhibit debut on Tuesday and is expected to be out when the weather is nice and not raining.The tiny, watermelon-patterned female was born on July 31 to mom Artemis and dad Tamu. The piglet has been doing well and is nursing from her mother. She is already starting to investigate mom's food, even though she isn't quite ready to eat solid food yet.“We’re really thrilled about this birth, which is a first for this species here at Franklin Park Zoo,” Christine Bartos, assistant curator at Franklin Park Zoo, said in a statement. “Now that the little one has made her exhibit debut, it’s a wonderful opportunity for guests to observe her exploring with mom. Artemis is doing great and being a very attentive mother. This is her first litter, and she has been perfect!”Red river hogs are native to west and central Africa and are found in thickets, forests, savannas and swamps. They have coarse, rosy hair all over their body with a crest of white hair running along their spine. Both males and females have tusks.These hogs are social animals and often live in groups called sounders that range from two to 15 young females and one adult male. A typical sounder contains three to six individual hogs.This species will eat almost anything they come in contact with and have an excellent sense of smell, sight and hearing for locating food. The most common sources of food for red river hogs are grasses, roots, bulbs and fruits.Zoo New England, which manages Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, participates in the Red River Hog Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. SSPs help to ensure the survival of selected species — most of which are threatened or endangered — in zoos and aquariums, and enhance the conservation of those species in the wild.The red river hog piglet is the second baby animal for Zoo New England in recent months. Stone Zoo announced last month that a Linne's two-toed sloth baby was born at the zoo on July 31, and that zoo is holding an online naming auction for the baby sloth that will run through Sept. 19.Franklin Park Zoo also said its new red river piglet was among three born in Artemis' litter. Sadly, the other two piglets in the litter did not survive.
A new baby animal at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, looks like it will have visitors squealing with delight.
Officials at the Boston zoo said a red river hog piglet made its exhibit debut on Tuesday and is expected to be out when the weather is nice and not raining.
The tiny, watermelon-patterned female was born on July 31 to mom Artemis and dad Tamu. The piglet has been doing well and is nursing from her mother. She is already starting to investigate mom's food, even though she isn't quite ready to eat solid food yet.
“We’re really thrilled about this birth, which is a first for this species here at Franklin Park Zoo,” Christine Bartos, assistant curator at Franklin Park Zoo, said in a statement. “Now that the little one has made her exhibit debut, it’s a wonderful opportunity for guests to observe her exploring with mom. Artemis is doing great and being a very attentive mother. This is her first litter, and she has been perfect!”
Red river hogs are native to west and central Africa and are found in thickets, forests, savannas and swamps. They have coarse, rosy hair all over their body with a crest of white hair running along their spine. Both males and females have tusks.
These hogs are social animals and often live in groups called sounders that range from two to 15 young females and one adult male. A typical sounder contains three to six individual hogs.
This species will eat almost anything they come in contact with and have an excellent sense of smell, sight and hearing for locating food. The most common sources of food for red river hogs are grasses, roots, bulbs and fruits.
Zoo New England, which manages Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, participates in the Red River Hog Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. SSPs help to ensure the survival of selected species — most of which are threatened or endangered — in zoos and aquariums, and enhance the conservation of those species in the wild.
The red river hog piglet is the second baby animal for Zoo New England in recent months. Stone Zoo announced last month that a Linne's two-toed sloth baby was born at the zoo on July 31, and that zoo is holding an online naming auction for the baby sloth that will run through Sept. 19.
Franklin Park Zoo also said its new red river piglet was among three born in Artemis' litter. Sadly, the other two piglets in the litter did not survive.
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