Theatre Guide

Rare piglet born at Chester Zoo as African swine fever pushes species towards extinction

Babirusa found on just four Indonesian islands, now facing rapid decline as disease sweeps through wild population

Rare piglet Rana born at Chester Zoo, offering new hope for the vulnerable species

Chester Zoo is working with partners in Indonesia to track and protect remaining wild babirusas

Zoo has helped Indonesian conservationists breed at least 17 babirusas in-country towards national conservation targets


A critically important piglet has been born at Chester Zoo, as conservationists warn her species is being wiped out in the wild by African swine fever.

Little Rana is a babirusa - sometimes called the "pig-deer" - a species found on just four Indonesian islands. Until recently, they were considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but they will shortly be uplisted to Critically Endangered. Since African swine fever reached the islands around five years ago, wild populations have gone into rapid decline, and experts fear the disease could push babirusas towards extinction if action isn't taken.

Rana was the size of a “grapefruit with legs” when she was born - babirusa piglets typically weight between 300 and 500 grams. She's the fifth piglet born to mother Matano, who was herself born at Chester Zoo 11 years ago and now has descendants living in zoos across Europe.

Hannah Owens, Assistant Team Manager at Chester Zoo, said:

“This is the first babirusa birth we've had here for a few years, and Rana is a very special little lady. When she was born, she was tiny - about the size of a grapefruit, with legs. She's grown a lot and is doing really well.

“While babirusas are doing well in our care, I'm worried because they are really struggling in the wild. The numbers are radically reducing, and it would be horrendous if they disappeared, because they are amazing, charismatic animals. Piglets like Rana are a lifeline for the species.”

Babirusa pregnancies are unusually predictable - almost every birth at Chester Zoo has arrived after exactly 161 days of gestation. Keepers began counting down once Matano was seen with male Bamm Bamm early this year, later giving her a quiet, private space and extra bedding to prepare for the birth.

Unlike most pigs, babirusas typically have just one or two piglets at a time rather than large litters - one reason their numbers recover slowly when wild populations are hit hard. New mothers are also highly sensitive to disturbance, so keepers kept an eye on Rana and Matano remotely via a baby monitor until the pair were ready to be seen in public.

Hannah added:

“Babirusas are unique. Their name means 'pig-deer' in Malay, because of their distinctive look. They're much less hairy than other pigs - Rana had ginger fuzz when she was born, but that's gone now. Males are the only pigs whose upper tusks erupt through the snout bone and curve back towards their face.”

Chester Zoo conservationists work with partners to protect wild babirusa populations through the Action Indonesia Global Species Management Plans - helping design camera-trapping projects to monitor babirusas on Sulawesi, working with partner organisations to locate and protect surviving populations, and sharing conservation breeding expertise that has helped Indonesian colleagues breed at least 17 babirusas towards national cooperative breeding targets.

Amy Humphreys, a conservationist at Chester Zoo, is part of Action Indonesia, which is contributing to the Indonesian government’s new plan to save babirusas in the wild.

She witnessed the catastrophic drop in babirusa numbers reflected in a recent camera trap study set up in Sulawesi with Chester Zoo’s support. The study only recorded two instances where babirusas were photographed across the whole of 2023 and 2024.

Two of Britain’s rarest species handed lifeline as Chester Zoo joins national species recovery effort

Chester Zoo awarded funding as part of the largest ever UK government investment in species recovery

New breeding programme launched for threatened native invertebrates, including a snail found only at one lake in Wales

 Zoo to intensify work to save critically endangered lady slipper’s orchid

Chester Zoo has been awarded funding through the largest ever government investment in species recovery, backing two ambitious conservation projects that will help pull some of England's most threatened wildlife back from the brink.

The zoo will lead work as part of Natural England's £60 million Species Recovery Programme, announced today, which is funding 130 projects across the country to protect 364 threatened species.

Chester Zoo's funding covers two distinct projects - a new Native Species Recovery Hub and work to save the Lady's Slipper orchid, one of Britain's rarest flowers.

Native Species Recovery Hub

Working alongside Wildwood Trust, Chester Zoo will establish new conservation breeding programmes for native invertebrates. Invertebrates are highly sensitive to environmental change and are historically overlooked in conservation, despite being foundational to ecosystem health.

The Recovery Hub will focus on glutinous snails (Myxas glutinosa), found only at Bala Lake in Gwynedd, Wales, which will be bred as part of a collaborative British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums project, and two other highly threatened species.

These insurance colonies will be bred at the zoo and used to restore wild numbers. Although the breeding centre will not be open to the public, experts hope news of the project will give zoo visitors a window into England's own wildlife crisis, highlighting that the animals under threat aren't only found in far-flung places - some of the rarest species on Earth live within a short drive of home.

Iri Gill, Chester Zoo’s General Manager for Ectotherms, said:

“We’re really pleased to receive resources to further support native invertebrates. Global conservation is important, but we believe conservation should start at home.

“We have the expertise of a talented team that have worked with invertebrates extensively and have supported conservation work around the globe, and I’m confident we will rise to the challenge of helping species on our doorstep.”

Lady’s slipper orchid

The funds will help drive forward Chester Zoo’s work to save the lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus), one of the UK's most critically endangered floral species.

Once widespread through the UK, this delicate and colourful plant once had a wide range, particularly in the limestone districts of Derbyshire, Yorkshire, County Durham and Cumbria. However, habitat change, including the loss of UK woodlands, and over-collection by orchid enthusiasts in the 1800s and 1900s devastated the species.

It was considered extinct until a single plant was rediscovered in Yorkshire in 1930. A long-running partnership between Chester Zoo, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, BSBI, National Trust, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Plantlife International and RBG Kew has been cultivating lady’s slipper orchids behind the scenes, often in secret locations due to its rarity.

Phil Esseen, Head of Plants at Chester Zoo, said:

“Our partnership has prevented the extinction of the orchid, and we’re on the brink of achieving self-sustaining populations in the wild.

“Thanks to this support, we will be able to intensify the work we’re doing to research the species’ habitat preferences, how it interacts with soil microbiomes, how best to germinate seeds and in building community support for the protection of these beautiful orchids.”

More than 350 threatened species will benefit from the largest ever investment in recovering England’s wildlife, Natural England announced today, as part of the government's "Wild Again: Restoring England's Wildlife" initiative to turn the tide for England's wildlife.

Luci Rampling, Trusts & Foundations Manager at Chester Zoo, added:

“This funding will have a huge impact in helping conservation organisations like Chester Zoo safeguard these incredible species for generations to come.”