Cainochoerus (SciiFii)

The African pygmy pig (Cainochoerus pygmyensis), also known as the African pygmy hog, is a species of wild pig of the subfamily Cainochoerinae that originally lived in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa as an extinct species, Cainochoerus africanus, and the genus itself was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern open woodlands, grasslands, shrublands, and scrublands across East Africa and South Africa to help boost biodiversity. The African pygmy pig is a very small, cursorial pig and is among the smallest pig species, growing to be similar in size to the Asiatic pygmy hog. African pygmy pigs also have a very similar unique nesting behavior to the Asiatic pygmy hogs, which the tall grasses of their habitat enable them to perform. In the wild, they make firm nests in which to sleep by digging small trenches, using dry grasses and vegetation to line them. During the heat of the day, they stay within these nests. Using their snouts to find food, African pygmy pigs feed on roots, tubers, insects, rodents, and small reptiles. They also play an important role in their ecosystem, since by using their snouts to dig for food, they not only spread seeds from plants, but they also enhance the quality of the soil. Piglets are born gray, becoming brown with yellow stripes along the body length. They live for about nine years in the wild (although captive specimens tend to live longer), becoming sexually mature at one to two years old. They breed seasonally before the monsoons giving birth after a gestation of 100 days to a litter of three to six. The conservation status of the African pygmy pig is Near Threatened due to some habits loss and poaching, however, thanks to the conservationists, the African pygmy pig is a protected species and is making a comeback.