ATLANTA — Meet Daphne, Penelope, and Eloise!
The 11-week-old warthog piglets at Zoo Atlanta have experienced their latest exciting milestone: receiving names.
Each piglet had the opportunity to “choose” her name with an enrichment activity. The piglets and their parents entered their habitat to find three large balls, each labeled with the letters D, P, or E and representing names selected by the Warthog Care Team. The ball a piglet touched first became her name.
[PREVIOUS STORY: Baby warthogs at Zoo Atlanta frolic in habitat for first time]
Born on April 13, 2021, the piglets are the first litter for warthog pair Eleanor and Hamlet. The piglets began exploring their outdoor environment in the Zoo’s African Savanna in early June and may typically be seen in their habitat with their parents.
“Their time spent in the habitat is largely driven by Mom, who is an excellent first-time parent and is very protective of her little ones,” the zoo said.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
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.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Daughter killed, mother injured in shooting in NW Atlanta
- Atlanta Dream player suspended ‘until further notice’
- Police still searching for shooter who killed 3 at Kennesaw golf course
The African Savanna also features new habitats for African elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, meerkats, and southern white rhino.