Now-a-days Red river hogs are a normal sight in European zoos but this has not always been the case. Till the mid-1960-ties wild-caught animals came now and then from Africa but breeding was rare and afterr a while these animals died. In 1975 a small piglet was discovered on a banana-ship in Rotterdam-harbour and was in a bad shape. The animal was given to a Dutch animal-dealer and he contacted Duisburg Zoo. Because it was even in those days already illigal to transport ( wild ) pigs from one country to another, the animal was brought under the name "Red trunk-hustler" to Duisburg and here the little male recovered. Through some contacts which Duisburg Zoo had with Togo - from where the first male came - it was possible to import legaly a female in 1977 and already a year later the German first breeding took place at Duisburg. Zootierliste mentions that Duisburg obtained that same year ( 1978 ) a captive-bred male from La Palmyre in France but the same Zootierliste don't mention La Palmyre both on it's current or former keepers of the species so .... any ZooChatter with more information about this ? Duisburg had very good breeding-results with the species and they were send to a number of other European zoos. New blood into this population was brougth in by an animal from Frankfurt Zoo ( don't know in which year this animal was brought into the population ) and an animal from Paris which was wild-caught in Guinea and was send from Paris to Duisburg in 1987. In 2011 Duisburg recieved a group of 4 animals ( sexes not mentioned ) from San Diego. All the above information means that ( untill 2011 ) all Red river hogs in Europe have a founder-population of - at its hightst - 4 animals ! Would be intresting to know if the San Diego-animals have already some impact on the European population and what was with the captive-bred animal from La Palmyre.
To answer your Question: 1. Duisburg got a male from La Palmyre in 1983-it died 8 month later without breeding. This male wasn't captive bred, Palmyre has imported it from Gaboon. 2.Frankfurt never bred Red River hogs-the last male died in 1975, the last female in 1981. Also the zoo never send any RRH to Duisburg or another zoo. 3.The founder population was only three animals-the Duisburg Pair and a female from Paris. 4.Yes, the new animals from usa had indeed a good impact on the european population, because they brought in new genelines But already before 2011 some other other males from Usa and one from Guinea came to europe. Before Duisburg,only Antwerp Zoo has bred RRH after the second World war. Until 1970, the Zoo imported no less than 16 animals, in 1965 a litter of four was born,two piglets died the next day,the third in the age of six month and the last reached the age of four years. In 1966, a second litter of three wa sborn, but only one piglet survived for a month.The last RRH at Antwerp died in 1976, and only two animals remained in europe at that time-a female at Frankfurt and male at Duisburg! But Mr.Grzimek wanted to keep his precious animal-typical for a Zoodirector at this time-collecting,collecting,collecting,collecting....
Very interesting data about the origins of RR Hogs in Europe. During this same era(1960's) there were just two (known) individuals in the UK as well. An adult male at Dudley, and a rather decrepit-looking female at Paignton. Unfortunately no attempt was ever made to pair them up, as was fairly usual for zoos in those days. After they died, there were none in UK for some years until pairs arrived initially both at Belfast and Port Lympne, from Duisburg. Port Lympne kept their pair for many years but without any breeding(sibling relationship?) but when one of them died, the survivor was re-paired with one bred from the more recently arrived pair at Howletts(founders of their larger group) and I think they then bred at PL too.
RRH at Dudley and Paignton ? Interesting to know that-they are not mentioned in the Studbook! London Zoo also kept a pair, arrived in 1950 and 1951.The male died in 1953 and the female was send to Whipsnade in 1952, where it died 1953,too.London got another female in 1957, but it died in 1960.
Yep, saw them both myself. The Dudley male was a good specimen too- he was named 'Thurston'. He was there some while.
I definitely saw a RRH at Belle Vue(Manchester)in the so-called Paddock House in the 60s.And re.Duisburg..didn't they have a Bushpig as well? I was once told by a director of Berlin that they were difficult to keep(as opposed to RRHs) which rather indicates that Berlin(West)tried with them.
I saw a red river hog in the old Swine Sheds at London Zoo when I was a very young child; I guess this would have been in the late 1950s as the Swine Sheds were demolished about 1960 to make way for the Cotton Terraces development. Indeed; on my first few visits to Duisburg the collection included both red river hog and bush pig; these were housed in adjacent exhibits thus providing a good opportunity to compare the two forms (which in those days were only considered to be sub-specifically distinct).
