Precious Piggies
Posted at 9:53 am May 8, 2006 by Beth Rich
Pass the cigars and knit some booties; Janey and Mowgli, the pair of red river hogs in the Wild Animal Park’s Nairobi Village are parents! About two weeks ago, we began to suspect Janey was pregnant. First, there was a change in her behavior: she became extremely eager and vocal for her food. Then there was a change in her physical appearance: we noticed her abdomen and nipples enlarging. It seemed like each day she got bigger and bigger and bigger.
On Monday, May 1, one of the Village keepers discovered two newborn piglets with Janey and Mowgli. They were each about one pound (.45 kilograms) at birth and on Wednesday we discovered they are both males. They are about the size of a soda can covered with dark red fur, and tan half-inch wide horizontal stripes. In the wild, the stripes would be important for camouflage. Their red fur is somewhat coarse but the tan stripes are really coarse and are raised up a little. They already have the distinctive long ears of the red river hog, too! I’ve been told the piglets are going to be called Andy and Randy, in honor of two Park employees. We are extremely happy to report that the entire family is doing well.
Beth Rich is a mammal keeper at the Wild Animal Park.
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May 8th, 2006 at 10:45 am
what faces, they are two cuties. welcome to the new additions. congratulations to mom and dad.
May 8th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Oh how cute! Andy and Randy, twin brothers. Thanks for letting us know about the latest new ones at the zoo.
May 8th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
How cute are they?!!! Absolutely adorable – and so tiny too. Thanks for the news – and congrats on your new additions – I think they’ll be a handful.
May 8th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Congratulations on your new addition! Those babies are lovely =)
May 9th, 2006 at 5:29 am
What an adorable picture! I hope you will be able to provide some video of them at some point. Do they squeal? So cute! Love those precious piggies!
May 9th, 2006 at 5:53 am
Thanks Beth for the ” birth announcement” . I’m assuming the picture is of Randy and Andy. Too cute!!!!!!!
May 9th, 2006 at 6:29 am
Congratulations on the birth of those two cuties. As they are males, I know they will grow up to have faces only a mother could love, but they sure are adorable as babies! I hope we will see pictures as they mature. I’d like to watch their ear tassels grow! Thanks for keeping us informed.
May 9th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Such cuties!! Precious precious piggies indeed. Congratulations to the entire Zoo family. : )
May 9th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
How adorable! Cannot wait to see them.
May 10th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
oooh they are soooo adorable! and only the size of a soda can? i’m so glad i clicked on the link Precious Piggies. They really are just that! Thanks for this article and picture!
May 19th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
The piglets are cute! Hope the family is doing well!
May 19th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
They are so adorable and cute i just want to take them home.
May 19th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Adorable is an understatement! They are the cutest babies I have ever seen. Please provide some video for those in the Mid West.
May 19th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
They are so CUTE! I wish I could give them a big cuddle and take them home!
May 19th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Aww! How adorable. I never knew how cute pigs could be. Wish I could see them.
May 20th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Thanks for the birth announcement! Can’t wait to go to the Park to see Andy and Randy!
May 22nd, 2006 at 8:21 am
they are the sweetest little creatures !! so precious
May 22nd, 2006 at 9:36 am
OOOOOOO babies! These are such adorable ones and their parents are so gentle with them.
May 28th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
These 2 babies are too cute for words. Red River hogs are our favorite species of wild hogs. We really enjoyed seeing them when we visited the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park in 1998. Even though we live on the East Coast we continue to remain members to support reproductive biology at the Zoo & Wild Animal Park.
November 8th, 2006 at 11:12 am
I never thought of pigs as cute, but… these are adorable!