Play Pigs for Bonobos

These bright orange, ear tasseled red river hogs from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) were allowed to go in with the young bonobos I cared for in Kinshasa. The pigs were not too crazy about the apes, probably because the bonobos liked to ride them like horses. The pigs were enrichment for the bonobos, but the practice was discontinued when the bonobos grew larger.

My observations on how well the bonobos interacted with red river hogs led to some facilities, like the Columbus Zoo, putting these two species successfully together in the same exhibit. However, unlike my scenario, the zoo pigs are physically separated from the bonobos by hot wire.

Photo by D. Messinger