Warthog piglets’ first adventures in habitat!

The 7-week-old warthog piglets at Zoo Atlanta are embarking on their first adventures exploring their habitat in the Zoo’s African Savanna. This week marks the piglets’ first forays into the area since their birth on April 13, 2021.

The time the piglets spend in the habitat is primarily driven by their mother, Eleanor, who is an excellent first-time parent and is very protective of her offspring. While there is not yet a guarantee of seeing the piglets, lucky Members and guests may enjoy sightings which should increase as the weeks go on and the group adjusts to their new surroundings.

The piglets, all female, do not yet have names. Future milestones will include opportunities to meet their father, Hamlet, who has not yet been introduced to the piglets. The piglets are the first litter for Eleanor and Hamlet.

Native to sub-Saharan Africa, warthogs are currently widespread in the wild, but populations are in decline as a result of drought, desertification, and human-caused habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. Warthogs are highly resilient animals and are more adaptable to human activities than are most of the other mammals that share their grasslands ecosystem.

The Zoo’s African Savanna features new habitats for African elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, meerkats, and southern white rhino. Zoo Atlanta is open daily with protocols in place to promote wellness, including timed ticketing; hand-sanitizing stations throughout grounds; and signage and other aids to promote social distancing. Masks are recommended for general admission and are required for ages 2 and up for certain optional in-Zoo experiences such as giraffe feeding, Treetop Trail presented by Kaiser Permanente, and all education programs, including Wild Encounters.

The warthog piglets join several exciting new arrivals at Zoo Atlanta in 2021. Their fellow Zoo babies include an Angolan colobus infant; twin golden lion tamarins; a crowned lemur infant; a hooded vulture chick; golden-breasted starling chicks; a tawny frogmouth chick; and a lappet-faced vulture chick.

Learn more or reserve tickets at zooatlanta.org.