Meet the adorable red river hog piglets which have just been born at Paignton Zoo

  • Watch the piglets playing here

Paignton Zoo has released some adorable footage of its three new arrivals - red river hog piglets. 

The trio of red river hogs were born at Paignton Zoo on 17 July to four-year-old mother Winnie and three-year-old dad Humphrey. It is the first litter of piglets for the pair.  

Red river hogs are born with yellow patches, a characteristic that allows them to camouflage in the wild and gives them an appearance quite different to that of their parents.

As the piglets grow, they will swap their yellow markings for a red coat, white whiskers, long ear tufts and a white stripe down their back.

Winnie sleeping with her three babies Credit: Paignton Zoo

By the time they are four months old, the piglets will have transitioned to a solid diet of roots, fruit and insects. Their parents will show them how to use their snouts to burrow for food, something that they will spend much of their adult life doing.

Interim Curator of Mammals at the zoo Owen Taylor said: “We were really pleased to find that Winnie had given birth to three healthy piglets when we arrived at work last Monday. We haven’t had red river hog piglets in over 10 years, so this litter feel even more special. 

“Winnie and Humphrey are proving themselves to be great parents, and we can’t wait to see these little ones grow up.”