Pygmy hog
Porcula salvania Hodgson, 1847
The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is a mammal of the family Suidae in the order Artiodactyla. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with an adult body mass of 7.7 kg and up to 8 kg.
Quick facts about the pygmy hog
Gestation lasts 100 days, litter size is 3.2 young, and sexual maturity comes at 700 days (1.9 years). The IUCN Red List classifies the pygmy hog as Endangered (EN), a threatened category, and its lifespan is 12 years, with up to 14 years reported.
- Weight
- 7.72 kg – 8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 12 years – 14 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 99 days – 111 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 23 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the pygmy hog
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the pygmy hog live?
Not recorded
What is the pygmy hog?
The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is a very small and endangered species of pig and the only species in the genus Porcula. Endemic to India, the pygmy hog is a suid native of the alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas, at elevations of up to 300 m (980 ft). Populations of pygmy hogs were once widespread in the tall, dense, wet grasslands in a narrow belt of the southern Himalayan foothills from north-western Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through southern Nepal and North Bengal, and possibly extending into contiguous habitats in southern Bhutan. Due to human encroachment and destruction of the pygmy hogs' natural habitat, the species was thought to have gone extinct in the early 1960s. However, in 1971, a small pygmy hog population was rediscovered as they were fleeing a fire near the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. Today, the only known population of pygmy hogs resides in Manas National Park. The population is threatened by livestock grazing, fires and poaching. With an estimated population of around 500 mature individuals, the pygmy hog is listed as a Endangered species on the IUCN Red List, and conservation efforts such as captive breeding and re-release programs are currently being employed.
From the Wikipedia article “Pygmy hog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pygmy_hog&oldid=1384683653), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the pygmy hog endangered?
The pygmy hog is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the pygmy hog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familySuidae
- genusPorcula
- SpeciesPorcula salvania Hodgson, 1847
Synonyms Sus salvanius
Other names and names in other languages (30)
- خنزير قزمArabic
- নল গাহৰিAssamese
- Nal GahoriAssamese
- Takuri BorahAssamese
- prase zakrsléCzech
- ZwergwildschweinGerman
- JabalSpanish
- Jabalí EnanoSpanish
- Jabalí PigmeoSpanish
- pikkusikaFinnish
- Sanglier nainFrench
- Sanglier PygmFrench
- Sanglier pygméeFrench
- Letj wilswinNorthern Frisian
- חזיר גמדיHebrew
- Patuljasta svinjaCroatian
- törpedisznóHungarian
- Cinghiale nanoItalian
- コビトイノシシJapanese
- 아기멧돼지Korean
- DvergvillsvinNorwegian Bokmål
- Sano BanelNepali
- DwergvarkenDutch
- Świnia karłowataPolish
- Świneczka karłowataPolish
- Porco-pigmeuPortuguese
- Карликовая свиньяRussian
- หมูป่าแคระThai
- Cüce yaban domuzuTurkish
- 姬豬Chinese
Relatives of the pygmy hog
Other species in the same family Suidae.
Wild boar
Sus scrofa
Common warthog
Phacochoerus africanus
Giant forest hog
Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
Congo Bushpig
Potamochoerus porcus
Cape warthog
Phacochoerus aethiopicus
Bushpig
Potamochoerus larvatus
ComparePygmy hog vs Wild boarPygmy hog vs Common warthogPygmy hog vs Giant forest hogPygmy hog vs Congo Bushpig
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the pygmy hog?
The pygmy hog is a mammal in the family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, and genus Porcula.
How much does a pygmy hog weigh?
An adult Pygmy hog weighs 7.7 kg, with up to 8 kg reported, which places it in the medium size class (1 to 25 kg).
What does the pygmy hog eat?
The pygmy hog is a herbivore.
Is the pygmy hog endangered?
Yes. The IUCN Red List classifies the pygmy hog as Endangered (EN), which is a threatened category.
How long does a pygmy hog live?
The pygmy hog has a lifespan of 12 years, and sources report up to 14 years.
How many young does a pygmy hog have?
The pygmy hog has a litter size of 3.2 young after a gestation period of 100 days.
Is the pygmy hog active at night?
Yes. The pygmy hog is nocturnal and lives on the ground as a terrestrial animal.
Who named the pygmy hog?
The pygmy hog, Porcula salvania, was named by Hodgson, 1847.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Pygmy hog (Porcula salvania). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pygmy-hog
“Pygmy hog (Porcula salvania).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pygmy-hog.
@misc{pygmy_hog_2026,
title = {Pygmy hog (Porcula salvania)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pygmy-hog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}