Five Red River Hog piglets born at Peoria Zoo

PEORIA — Baby Red River Hogs might lack the star power of lion cubs, but last weekend five newborn piglets stole the show.

“People saw the sign on the exhibit and read that they were born on (Sunday morning) April 17, and were like, ‘Wait, what’s today?’ And they realized they had been born that morning. It was pretty unusual that the public got the chance to see them so soon,” said Kim Scott, curator of animals at the Peoria Zoo.

Sultana, the female Red River Hog in the Peoria Zoo’s Africa! exhibit, gave birth to five piglets overnight Sunday. Zoo officials have not yet laid hands on the newborns so they do not know their genders or exactly how much they weigh or how long they are. Scott estimated they were about a pound each and about 8 inches long.

“You could probably hold one in two hands,” she said.

It was Sultana’s fourth litter since June 2009, when she delivered one male and two females. She had three females in April 2010 and two males and one female in March 2011. All of those hogs have either moved on to other zoos across the country, or have died. The five born Sunday were the first litter fathered by her new breeding partner, Pumpkin.

“When Pumpkin came (to the zoo) in 2014 he wasn’t fully sexually matured,” Scott said. “Once he was sexually mature, he figured it out pretty quick.”

The birth occurred off-camera in the Red River Hog dayroom where the hogs are normally exhibited during cold weather, so the public is able to see them even before they are big enough to go outdoors. They were discovered by the animals’ keeper before the zoo opened Sunday morning.

“I was so excited to get the call that the piglets had finally arrived,” Scott said. “We had predicted an earlier due date, so we’ve all been waiting anxiously for their arrival. I was really surprised by her large litter size. In the past, Sultana has only given birth to litters of three. The piglets all look healthy and are doing great.”

The Red River Hog piglets were born with their eyes open and ready to walk and run. They wean at two to four months. The five are currently separated from their father, Pumpkin, although the plan is to unite the family at some point.

“He’s a first-time father and has never seen babies before,” Scott said. “We’ll have to monitor his reactions and see if we can put the whole family together.”

Three 4-month-old female lion cubs born at the zoo were put on exhibit in the enclosure next to the Red River Hogs. They were out Sunday.

“There was quite a crowd at the Red River Hogs exhibit,” Scott said. “The piglets sort of stole the show.”

 Scott Hilyard can be reached 686-3244 and shilyard@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @scotthilyard.