Wednesday, 15 April 2015



Hi friends

Good morning to you all. Now it is 10 in the morning at Assam. (I know you are still in the bed, it is half past five at your home).  I have just finished my morning course of work with the hogs. Pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) the rare of the rarest mammal in the world, once declared extinct and rediscovered in 1971 by a Jersey man – a tea planter in Assam. Since then Durrell has been involved in the conservation of this species. My Friend Daniel Craven will visit you and tell you more about this.

I am Parag Jyoti Deka



, Project Manager of the pygmy hog conservation programme. Though I am a vet I have been trained at Durrell in way back 1999 to manage and breed endangered species in captivity.

This week I am helping my keeper with animal husbandry. This week is a holiday for Assam as the national festival of Assam (Rongali Bihu or Bohag Bihu) is happening now. Most of the keepers are visiting their family at their native villages. So I am helping the only keeper working right now in our centre. Today my younger daughter is with me. She is here to assist me.

We have just finished feeding hogs in one enclosure. She helped me in arranging feeding plates. We offer the hogs this morning a piece of watermelon, a piece of bannan and a piece of paraboiled arum. We have now eight pregnant hogs in this centre and another four pregnant hogs at another centre. So we have added extra vitamin and minerals to the feeds of the pregnant sow. At eleven they will get maize which we will be spreading in their paddocks.

This is a pre monsoon season in Assam and temperature is rising. The temperature now is 33°C. Our hogs love wallowing. They will go for a dip in the wallowing pool and then rub their body coat and become fresh. So just after giving food we fill the wallowing pools with water.  

Now I have to go the local market to buy some more food for the hogs. Here we have a market day (Thursday and Sunday). So i'll write soon again. I know you want to know more about our hogs and conservation efforts. So write to me…. I will try to satisfy your young minds.

Bye Bye

Parag
Posted by at

8 comments:

  1. Unknown24 April 2015 at 03:59

    Hi Parag thank you for your post....
    Class 8.1 would like to ask.........
    What specific diseases might the pygmy hog get affected by?
    Are poachers a big deal in killing out pygmy hogs?
    What is their life span?
    What is the estimate growth rate over the next few years?
    Is it possible for maternity deaths of pygmy hogs?
    Is the pygmy hogs "extinction" related to natural selection?
    What procedures would you take in an event of a natural disaster?

    Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown26 April 2015 at 20:05

      Hi Simon
      It is amazing, brilliant questions. I will try to satisfy inquisitive mind. Write to me if I could not make them clear.
      Thanks a lot to all of you for showing interest to our hogs.
      Parag

      What specific diseases might the pygmy hog get affected by?
      While hogs affected any disease beside my own efforts to understand the diseases causes and process I also take the help from experts from local vet school. Their lab is very good and well equipped for diagnosis and I developed a very good relation with them. Besides treating hogs, our most efforts go towards prevention of the disease. So far we have encountered salmonellosis (cause by a bacterium called Salmonella) in few occasions. Sometime dirrhoea (caused by a bacterium called E. coli) affects young hoglets. There was one incidence of hog cholera also.

      Are poachers a big deal in killing out pygmy hogs?
      Poaching is not a major threat for pygmy hog decline. There is opportunistic poaching of pygmy hog. Some time they get caught in traps planted to catch for other animals.

      What is their life span?
      In wild they may survive up to seven years (They are good at breeding till 6 years of their age). In captivity they may survive till to 8 to 9 years of age. Few pygmy hogs in our centre survived for more then eleven years of their age.

      What is the estimate growth rate over the next few years?
      Do you mean project’s growth rate? Our aim is to complete our goals of establishment of three wild and three captive populations in next seven to ten years within Assam. So far we have released hogs in two parks in Assam. We have to release at least another two parks to make it certain that pygmy hogs are safe in three places other then their original habitat at Manas National Park. To achieve this in next few years we have to breed at least 10 hogs yearly and release 10 to 12 hogs annually and maintain around 60 hogs in captivity. Other then two captive populations in two different locations we have established a display unit at Guwahti zoo for public display of hogs.

      Is it possible for maternity deaths of pygmy hogs?
      So far there was no death of mother during birth of babies. We never intervene them while they give babies inside their farrowing nest. In few occasion some mothers delivered still born babies.



      Delete
    2. Unknown26 April 2015 at 20:06

      Is the pygmy hogs "extinction" related to natural selection?
      Pygmy hog is still not extinct, surviving in a smaller number only in one area. But their disappearance from their habitat or home land (Terai grassland) makes them rarest of the rare (Critically endangered). But their disappearance and rarity not related to natural selection. This is man made and related to their habitat. There are severe loss of habitat, poor or improper management of habitat and degradation and disturbance of habitat. These are the main threat of their disappeanrance.
      Let me explain you. There is a natural process of transformation of grassland gradually to wood land (this natural process is called succession of grassland). It should take hundreds of year’s. But by that time new grassland should appear due to change of course of Himalayan foothill rivers. But before appearing any new grassland expanding human population encroaches the newer area. So existing grasslands in protected areas needs to manage to stop or slowing down this natural process of succession.
      Since long time burning grassland is being used as a tool to manage the grassland. Burning kills young sapling of tree and promote growing of new grasses which is favoued by mega harbivours like elephant, rhino, buffalo and deer. It is easy to burn the grasses during driest period of the years (February and March). But fire burns all grasses at that time and nothing left to hide for the smaller species like pygmy hog for few weeks. So they are exposed to predation, forced to move their unnatural areas and this affects their day to day life. And continues annul dry season burning also reduce the in diversity of the grassland.
      Beside this, grasslands are also exposed for cattle grazing in many areas. There is always disturbance from presence of cattle and their cowboys. So pygmy hogs’ foraging areas become limited and effected their dispersal. Extensive cattle grazing also cause degradation of habitat. We the pygmy hog conservation programme closely working with the park authority to modify the grassland management process (burning grassland regime) and stop cattle grazing. Working the villagers to reduce pressure on grassland by not letting loose their cattle to the pygmy hog habitat.

      What procedures would you take in an event of a natural disaster?
      Only natural digester so far we encountered in grassland of pygmy hog habitat is flood. In foot hill grassland remain under water in some portion only for few hours. And mostly all small animals moved towards high land.

      Delete
  2. Unknown24 April 2015 at 04:13

    Have you encountered any tigers in your field work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown26 April 2015 at 20:11

      Hi Sarah

      Have you tiger? All of us seen tigers while working in grassland at Orang National Park. But we are not scared. They are gorgeous animal. While we release our hogs we erect a tall plate form above the ground to monitor hogs visiting baiting station. Those who stayed at plate form saw tigers from a distance during the day. Once we saw a tiger from elephant’s back. But tigers usually avoid human and domestic elephant.

      Thanks

      Parag

      Delete
  3. Unknown24 April 2015 at 07:06

    Hi Sarah, this is Dan - Parag is in the field at the moment and will be answering your great questions as soon as he has an internet connection. Please check back again soon.

    Kind regards

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown24 April 2015 at 07:42

    Hi Sarah, I know Parag will want to answer you personally but you got me remembering back to my time in the field and first going into Orang national park. My senses were heightened when I realised that we would have armed park staff accompanying us! They were ready to fire into the air to scare any tigers that might get too close! part of me wanted to see a tiger in the wild of course, but only from a distance! As it was although we did find evidence of pygmy hog nests we didn't see any tigers that day.

    Best
    Dan

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown26 April 2015 at 20:09

    Hi Sarah
    Yes, they have many enemies, many animals - Python, some wild cats (leopard cat) living in grassland (tiger may not go behind them they are too small for tiger) may predate on pygmy hog. New born babies (150 to 200g) are so small that if they exposed even crow can pick up them.

    Thanks for you concern

    Parag

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)