Rare wild boar threatened

CALAPAN CITY – The baboy damo, a rare and unique breed of pig found only in five areas in the Philippines, has been classified by a world conservation group as “vulnerable” or “threatened.”

The Philippine warty pig (scientific name: Sus Philippensis) is now included in the “red list” of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and is considered as rare and declining.

Baboy damo, widely distributed in the still-forested areas of Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao, is a bizarre-looking forest-dweller with coarse, blackish coat and white hair on the sides.

Its long, stiff hair form a crest running down the middle of its back, and this is particularly conspicuous in males during the breeding season.

The animal’s medium-length tail has a tuft of long, black hair at the tip, used to swat away flies and signal mood.

The baboy damo survives in forested areas but intense hunting for its meat and extreme levels of deforestation are slowly causing its disappearance.

These threats are amplified by the rapid human population growth in the Philippines, and illegal logging.

Local farmers consider baboy damo to be legitimate targets for reprisal hunting.

Hybridization with free-ranging domestic pigs is also said to be threatening the existence of the baboy damo.

The baboy damo is fully protected by Philippine law, though there is little or no effective enforcement of the relevant legislation in most areas like in Mindoro and Mindanao, where baboy damo abound in national parks.

IUCN stated in its Internet postings that to improve this vulnerable pig’s situation, programs to educate local people and to alter their negative attitudes towards wild pigs have been recommended. – Juancho Mahusay