Fun Bearded Pig Facts For Kids

Did you know pigs can have whiskers and beards? A native pig in Borneo, the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, and other islands of Southeast Asia known as the Borean bearded pig has them. With tusks and a two-tufted tail, they are known for their long heads and slimmer torsos. They are forest-dwelling pigs that follow macaques to relish on fruit and nuts they drop from trees. They are omnivorous animals and enjoy their diet, including various vegetation such as fruit & nuts, and small invertebrates like snails and carrion.

They are known for their migration habits which they do every year. The annual migration pattern happens across the same route during the same time of the year. Sadly due to the destruction of their natural habitat, this pattern is being disturbed. Also, there is a decline in their population.

Continue reading about this Vulnerable species of pig to learn more interesting facts about them, including their habits and lifestyle. Also, go through our other articles to know more about the domestic pig and the Merino sheep.

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What type of animal is a bearded pig?

Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus), also known as the Bornean bearded pig, belongs to the Sus genus of the animal kingdom.

What class of animal does a bearded pig belong to?

Bearded pigs (Sus barbatus) belong to the Mammalia class of the Suidae family which includes pigs, hogs, and boar species. They belong to the genus Sus of the animal kingdom. Two of these forest-dwelling pigs are Sus barbatus barbatus (the nominate subspecies) and Sus barbatus oi (the western bearded pig).

How many bearded pigs are there in the world?

The exact count of bearded pigs is not available. Due to logging and agricultural activities, their habitat is being destroyed which is causing a steep decline in their population in recent times. They are one of the wild pig species preferred for their meat.

Where do bearded pigs live?

Bearded pigs live mainly in the rainforests of Southeast regions of Asia. They can be seen in the Malay Peninsula region, Karimata Islands, Riau Archipelago, Bangka, Sumatra, and  Borneo. They are also found in the Tawitawi Islands and Sibutu, the Calamian and forests of other islands in the western Philippines. They are also found in zoos where they are bred in captivity.

What is a bearded pig's habitat?

A Bornean bearded pig prefers wild rainforests, mangrove thickets, and secondary forests as their habitat.

Who do bearded pigs live with?

Barded pigs live in a family group but during migration, these pigs come together in a group of hundreds forming large migrating herds.

How long do bearded pigs live?

The age of Bornean bearded pigs falls between 15 to 18 years range in captivity. However, in the wild, it is believed that their life expectancy is about 10 years.

How do they reproduce?

Bearded pigs reproduce by the sexual reproduction process and they breed year-long. Not much information is available about their courtship rituals. The gestation period is between three to four months. Females depart from the herd or the group to build foliage nests in the wild thickest before delivering the young piglets, and the young ones stay in those nests for about a week. Small pigs have a litter size of three to four, while larger females can have a litter size of 10 to 12 piglets. Females are protective of their young offspring and nurse them for about three months along with other food that they eat. Even after that, the young stay with their mother for a year. Though the sexual maturity age of this species is 18 months, these pigs do not breed until the age of four.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN Red List, the conservation status of the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus) species is Vulnerable.

What do bearded pigs look like?

Bearded pigs have a distinguishing characteristic white beard hair covering a pair of warts by thin vibrissae on the face. These are medium-sized pigs and have noticeably slimmer torsos and longer heads compared to other pigs in the world. They have a powerful, agile body with dark gray-brown coarse bristly coats. Small eyes, long ears, and two-rowed tail tuft are its other features. Like all pigs, it has a long disc-shaped snout and lower canine teeth form a set of tusks.

How cute are they?

The Bornean bearded pig looks attractive with its white beard and whiskers. However, a piglet with its small tail is cuter.

How do they communicate?

Pigs communicate with each other through body language, vocal communications, and scent or pheromones.

How big is a bearded pig?

Bearded pigs range from 3.3-5.5 ft (1-1.6 m) in length and are 2.5-3  ft (0.76-0.91 m) tall at shoulder length.

How fast can a bearded pig run?

The exact speed at which a Bornean bearded pig runs is unavailable, but in general, a pig runs at speeds of 11 mph (18 kph), especially when they feel threatened by their predators in the wild like tigers and clouded leopards.

How much does a bearded pig weigh?

The weight of a Bornean bearded pig is about 90-331 lb (41-150 kg). Few pigs may grow up to 660 lb (299 kg) of weight, but that rarely happens.

What are their male and female names of the species?

In general, a male pig is known as a boar and a female as a gilt. If the females have piglets with them, then they are called a sow. Groups of pigs are known as drift, drove, sounder, team, herd. No specific term for male and female Bornean bearded pigs are given.

What would you call a baby bearded pig?

In general, young pigs or baby pigs are called piglets or shoats. However, no specific term is given for a baby Bornean bearded pig.

What do they eat?

Bearded pigs are omnivorous animals. Their food includes fruit, roots, fungi, nuts, vegetation, and rotting wood. Also, their diet consists of earthworms, small vertebrates, turtle eggs, and carrion in the wild.

Are they dangerous?

No, they are not dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

No, bearded pigs are migratory forest-dwelling species and they have not been tamed. With a decrease in their population, they are being captive-bred in zoos to conserve their numbers.

Did you know...

Bearded pigs often go after groups of macaques in the forest to eat the fruit that the macaque monkeys drop onto the forest floor from tall trees.

An interesting fact about the bearded pig animal is that they are powerful swimmers that can easily cross the many large rivers of Borneo and Sumatra.

The population of the bearded pigs

The population of bearded pigs has reduced in recent times. They are killed for their meat and another reason for there decline can be related to logging and agricultural activities. Their habitat is being destroyed and their migratory route is being disturbed.

Where do bearded pigs migrate?

Bornean bearded pigs are distinctive in their migrations. Hundreds of them join together for the annual migration. Old male pigs lead the migrating herds, and they always follow the same route at the same time of the year. Though they are not diurnal while migrating, these groups only travel at night in their range, and during the day they take shelter in the woods. The reason behind these migrations is related to the availability of food. vegetation, or an annual regular migratory cycle.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals from our blue wildebeest facts and highland cattle facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Bearded pig coloring pages.