Spring is typically thought of as a time for baby animals and flowers, but not for the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo! This year, our babies are arriving right in the middle of summer, and they definitely don’t smell like flowers! We have two adorable Guinea Hog piglets that arrived at the zoo in July, soon to make their debut on exhibit in the Children’s Zoo. Now, adorable may not be a word that you typically use to describe pigs, but how can you describe these faces as anything else?
You will be able to see this adorable face up close soon in the John P. McGovern Children's Zoo!
These girls may be small now, weighing about 25 lbs, but in a few years they will be about 150 lbs! That may seem very large, but Guinea Hogs are actually one of the smaller breeds of pigs. Guinea Hogs originated from West Africa and have been crossbred to create their unique breed, found only in North America, making them a true American Heritage Breed. You won’t find this breed in the wild, they are only bred and kept on farms and ranches. Guinea Hogs are omnivores, spending their days foraging for grasses, roots, nuts and the occasional small mammal or snake. Once one of the most commonly kept pigs, there are now fewer than 200 remaining making them a critically rare, or a minor breed. Similar to a wild animal being classified as threatened or endangered, the term minor breed is used to describe nearly 100 breeds of livestock in North America that are declining. Many of these breeds, like the Guinea Hog, were once kept widely and played a major role in the development in North American agriculture. Over time, these breeds have been replaced by specialized breeds to meet the increasing production demand. Guinea Hogs have a very sweet and docile disposition, and are extremely receptive to attention and training from keepers. Our new additions have been receiving regular training from the time that they arrived. Being very intelligent, Guinea Hogs are able to learn new behaviors quickly, already mastering target and station, seen below. This consistent training is not only important as enrichment, but is also helpful for veterinary check ups, lessening the stress to the animal and staff.
Target is commonly one of the first behaviors any animal learns. Here, one of our girls targets to trainer Russell's hand. She must touch her snout, or gruntle, to his open palm to receive a reward.
Our girls will be venturing out onto exhibit in the John P. McGovern Children’s Zoo very soon. Check back to see how much they enjoy their new home, exciting enrichment, and learning fun new behaviors, and be sure to visit them soon at the Houston Zoo!
Visit the American Guinea Hog Association to learn more about Guinea Hogs.
To learn more about American Heritage Breeds visit the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Over a span of six weeks, from mid-February to mid-March, we welcomed three baby bongos into the Houston Zoo wildlife family.
To the casual observer, all the calves look alike. But our keepers found a perfect way to tell them apart – they count the white stripes on their side. Bongos can have 10 to 14 white stripes on each side and each side can present a different configuration. For instance, Penelope has 11 stripes on each side. But Linus has 11 on one side and 13 on the other. Dylan, on the other hand has 13 striped on each side.