Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo’s director, said, “At Christmas we ran a campaign with the red river hogs as 'golden pigs' (https://blog.foreigners.cz/day-20-advent-golden-pig/), now we can see their offspring for the first time in our zoo. The three 'golden piglets' are very active and are even rooting around in the substrate. Naturally, they arouse a huge amount of interest among the visitors, which develops into pure delight.”

Prague Zoo kept red river hogs, or bushpigs, in the African House from 2001 to 2016, but they were only males. They were kept again with the opening of the Dja Reserve at the end of 2022, but it wasn’t until last summer that the zoo acquired a female.

Talking about the piglets, which were born directly in the exhibition shortly after midnight, their curator, Jan Mengr, said, “The male, Štěpán, and Jasna didn't waste any time, and we observed them mating on their first day together last September. Thanks to regular weighing, we then found out that Jasna was gaining weight. The birth went smoothly, and the night-time camera footage showed them suckling their mother's milk.”

The red river hog piglets often stay close to the exhibition’s glass wall, so it is possible to observe them in the Dja Reserve from just a few centimetres. Photo Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

Although it is natural for female bushpigs to drive males away prior to giving birth and to even be aggressive towards them, this was not the case here. In fact, quite the opposite. Jasna tolerates three-year-old Štěpán and remains calm in his presence. This means visitors to the exhibition can see the whole red river hog family. The piglets’ sex is still unknown.

The only change from the usual regime is that the troop of De Brazza’s monkeys, that normally share the exhibit with the hogs, have been removed. They will use just the outdoor enclosure for the time being.

Red river hogs can be found in the wild in West and Central Africa from Senegal to Uganda in the east and Angola in the south. These multi-coloured, even-toed ungulates mainly inhabit deciduous and mixed forests up to 4,000 metres above sea level. They get their name from the fact that they always live close to water, be it rivers, lakes or marshes. Although this species is considered relatively abundant, it too is one of the favourite targets of bushmeat hunters. In some countries it is persecuted by farmers because it damages their crops. Red river hogs are also threatened by the loss of their natural habitat due to logging and human encroachment.

These are the first ‘golden piglets’ to be born at Prague Zoo. The female gave birth directly in the exhibit and the keepers try to disturb her as little as possible so that she can rear them naturally. Photo Monika Dolejšová, Prague Zoo