By Roxanna Breitigan, Animal Care Manager
Meet Red River Hogs, Huey and Ari! Huey was born on July 7, 2007 and came to us from San Diego. Ari was born on April 24, 2002 and came to us from Dallas.
After their mandatory 30 day quarantine, they were moved to their new home in the African Rift Valley exhibit. After a little time, they began to settle in to their new indoor enclosures. They learned pretty quickly how to maneuver the chute system that allows access to their outdoor exhibit!
They spend their days rooting around for treats the keepers have hidden, moving logs, playing with the enrichment items the keepers have set up for them and napping. They are a very vocal pair who ARE not shy to let their keepers know it is meal time or time to go in for the night. You may not see them out regularly during the winter months since the minimum temperature for them to go outside is 40 degrees and sunny. They get along really well and animal care staff is hopeful that they will be able to have piglets.
They are a very smart species to work with and keepers train them daily. We are currently working on ultrasounding with Ari so that we can know if she becomes pregnant. We have taught both of them to lay down on cue and Huey will do a turn behavior on cue. They both hold their positions on cue which means they stop what they are doing.
Next time you visit the African Rift Valley exhibit, be sure to look for Huey and Ari!
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