A pair of hogs native to Africa recently became first-time parents at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. Finn, an eight-year-old Red River Hog is the new mom to a baby hoglet with a reddish-orange coat and stripes that will disappear as it matures, according to the announcement from the zoo.
Zoo staff said they haven’t handled the baby yet, so they don’t know sex. They expect to name it later this fall. Eventually Gus, the new father, will join the family to help with parenting.
In 2022 another Red River Hog couple at the zoo, Zena and Huey, welcomed their second offspring. Their first baby, Pinto, was born the previous year.
The Red River Hogs live in the zoo’s African Rift Valley exhibit. According to the National Zoo website, they are named for their coloring and proclivity for wallowing in rivers. Their native habitat primarily includes rainforests and nearby savanna. They can be found elsewhere like dry forests or cultivated areas, but prefer lots of brush to take cover in.
Editor's note: This story and the headline have been updated to reflect this correction: only one new hoglet was born this summer. The others were born in 2021 and 2022.
