WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Sedgwick County Zoo has announced the birth of an animal that is critically endangered in the wild.
The Chacoan peccary is a distant relative of wild boars and domesticated pigs. They were thought to be extinct up until 1971, when scientists discovered them in the Gran Chaco, an arid region of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and parts of Brazil. It’s part of the Lazarus Taxon, a group of organisms believed to be extinct that have been rediscovered.
This Chacoan peccary was born to female Pickle. It’s the third baby for Pickle at the zoo.
Chacoan peccaries can weigh up to 78 pounds as adults. The young piglet’s name has not been revealed yet…