Beardsley Zoo Is Going Hog Wild This Summer

BRIDGEPORT — Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is celebrating “Hog Heaven in ‘07” with a summer exhibit of warthogs and new additions of Chacoan peccaries and guinea hogs.

The visiting warthogs debuted on Memorial Day and are settling in nicely to the place they will call home until the end of August. The two brothers are 12- and 13-years old and weigh 234 and 257 pounds, respectively. Zoo staff prepared the old capybara yard (adjacent to the Tropical Rainforest building) with a sprinkler system, mud wallow and tropical plants to accommodate the warthogs’ needs. Guests are able to view these most unusual animals from an elevated deck and through clear Lexan windows. (The zoo’s two female capybara were moved to another facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.)

The zoo will receive three male Chacoan peccaries from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kans., by the end of June. After the animals go through customary three-week quarantine, they will go on exhibit in the former llama yard. The zoo has brought in this new species to replace the llamas, enhancing visitors’ experience by broadening the animal collection through working with these endangered Species Survival Plan animals.

Chacoan peccaries are found in southwestern United States and Mexico in herds of 6 to 30. They have very coarse black and gray fur with a white “collar” in front of their shoulders. The use their razor sharp teeth to eat prickly pear cactus, tubers, bulbs and small animals.

In addition, the zoo expects one male and two female guinea hogs from Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita and Virginia Zoo (respectively) by mid-June. They will be on exhibit in the New England Farmyard.

Guinea hogs are one of the smaller breeds of pigs, ranging from 150 to 250 pounds. They have a gentle disposition, upright ears, a hairy coat and a curly tail. They eat snakes, nuts, rodents, grass and roots.

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy classifies Guinea hogs as critical on the Conservation Priority List due to the disappearance of the “family farm,” which looked to a smaller breed of livestock to supply food for the family. These heritage breeds are too small for the large farms to work with.

To celebrate the presence of so many “hogs,” the zoo is holding a “Don’t be a Gas Hog” raffle for a 2007 Honda Civic hybrid. The vehicle, which has leather seats and a moon roof, has a refined gasoline-electric powertrain that helps the car achieve an EPA city/highway rating of 49/51 mpg.

The $20 tickets will be sold through September 10 at the zoo’s front gate or by calling 203-394-6573. A total of 3,500 tickets will be sold, and the drawing will be held September 10. In support of the raffle, Honda of Westport gave the Zoo $5,000 toward the purchase of the car.

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is at 1875 Noble Avenue. The zoo is open daily from 9 am until 4 pm. The New World Tropics Building is open from 10:30 am until 3:30 pm daily, and The Carousel Building is open seasonally from 10:30 am until 4 pm.

Visit BeardsleyZoo.org or call 203-394-6565 for additional information including admission fees and special programs listings.