The Philippine warty pig (''Sus philippensis'') is one of four known

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the pig genus ('' Sus'')

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The other three endemic species are the

Visayan warty pig The Visayan warty pig (''Sus cebifrons'') is a critically endangered species in the pig genus ('' Sus''). It is endemic to six of the Visayan Islands (Cebu, Negros, Panay, Masbate, Guimaras, and Siquijor) in the central Philippines. It is known ...

(''S. cebifrons''),

Mindoro warty pig Oliver's warty pig or Mindoro warty pig (''Sus oliveri'') is a small species in the pig genus ('' Sus'') which can only be found on the island of Mindoro in the central Philippines. This species previously treated to be a subspecies of ''S. phili ...

(''S. oliveri'') and the

Palawan bearded pig The Palawan bearded pig (''Sus ahoenobarbus'') is a pig species in the genus '' Sus'' endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs on the archipelago of islands formed by Balabac, Palawan, and the Calamian Islands. It is in length, about tall ...

(''S. ahoenobarbus''), also being rare members of the family

Suidae Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized (or 19 counting domestic pigs and wild boars separately), classified into ...

. Philippine warty pigs have two pairs of warts, with a tuft of hair extending outwards from the warts closest to the jaw. It has multiple native common names, but it is most widely known as ''baboy damo'' ("bush pig") in Tagalog.

Subspecies

There are at least two recognized

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the Philippine warty pig: * ''S. p. philippensis'' (from

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

and nearby islands) * ''S. p. mindanensis'' (from

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

)

Distribution and habitat

In general, the original distribution of ''S. philippensis'' covered the western islands of the Philippines, while the original distribution of ''S. cebifrons'' covered the central and eastern islands. Specifically, the range of Philippine warty pigs included

Biliran Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ceb, Lalawigan sa Biliran; tl, Lalawigan ng Biliran), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

Jolo Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...

, Polillo,

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes, is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across Maqueda Cha ...

, and possibly other islands. The warty pigs in

Lubang Island Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the gro ...

and its outlying islands may be a distinct species. Moreover, it was formerly found in most habitats (from sea level to up to 2800 m) but is now confined to remote forests due to

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and heavy hunting by noose traps or trigger set bullets. Wild pigs have been reported in

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

and

Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...

, although it is unclear whether these populations are ''S. cebifrons'' or ''S. philippensis''. In April 2022, a Philippine warty pig was documented by a

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

(DENR) team while climbing

Mount Apo Mount Apo, also known locally as Apo Sandawa, is a large solfataric, dormant stratovolcano on the island of Mindanao, Philippines. With an elevation of above sea level, it is the highest-mountain in the Philippine Archipelago, Mindanao and 2 ...

Genetic relation to other pigs (Suidae)

It is closely related to the

Bornean bearded pig The Bornean bearded pig (''Sus barbatus''), also known as the Sunda bearded pig or simply bearded pig, is a species in the pig genus, '' Sus''. It can be recognized by its prominent beard. It also sometimes has tassels on its tail. It is found ...

(''Sus barbatus''), and in fact was once thought to be a subspecies (''i.e.'', ''S. b. philippensis'') like the

(''S. b. ahoenobarbus''). The Palawan bearded pig is now also frequently classified not as a subspecies, but as a separate Philippine endemic pig species, ''S. ahoenobarbus''.

Hybridization

With loss of its natural habitat from deforestation and uncontrolled logging and hunting, they have been forced into close contact with

domestic pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s (''Sus scrofa domestica'') (the domesticated variety of the non-endemic Eurasian wild

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

), and

hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

between the two species has been reported. Accordingly, genetic contamination of Philippine warty pig stock is a real and irreversible problem.

References

External links