Community Corner
Simon Gets Two Girlfriends, Warts and All
The Oakland Zoo's resident male warthog has been approved for breeding, and two females are joining him at the zoo.
By Bay City News Service
The Oakland Zoo's resident male warthog is about to get some female companionship.
Three-year-old Simon has won approval from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to breed, and two new females have been brought in to meet with him and hopefully mate, according to zoo officials.
The two females, both 2 years old, were brought in from the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida and from Zoo Atlanta. Zookeepers have been working to slowly introduce them to each other, as warthogs can be a challenge to introduce in captivity.
Things have gone well, and Simon is now being introduced into the mix, zoo officials said.
Warthogs like to dig for roots and tubers, graze on grass and wallow in the mud, zoo officials said. They can live into their mid- to late teens in captivity.
Warthogs are an unusual type of pig native to sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Oakland Zoo's website.
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