Nearly 30 years ago, six tiny pygmy hogs were taken out of the grasslands of Manas in Assam.

There was a good reason. The species had come dangerously close to disappearing, and conservationists feared that leaving the few surviving animals in the wild could mean losing them altogether.

So, in 1996, six pygmy hogs were captured from the Kuribeel grasslands of Manas National Park to start a breeding programme.

This June, their descendants came home.

Fifteen captive-bred pygmy hogs, nine females and six males, were released into the same Kuribeel grasslands. No confirmed signs of the species had been recorded there for the past nine years.

For conservationists who have spent decades trying to bring the animal back from the brink, the release marked a powerful full-circle moment.

Six animals had once been taken from these grasslands to save their species. Today, their descendants are being returned to rebuild a wild population.

The June release was carried out under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP), which has been working to breed pygmy hogs and return them to suitable habitats in Assam.

Since 2020, six groups have been released in Manas alone. With the latest 15 animals, the number released in the national park has reached 78.

Across Assam, the programme has now bred and reintroduced 194 pygmy hogs.

That number carries particular weight for an animal that was once feared extinct.

The pygmy hog disappeared from much of its historical range during the 20th century and was thought to have vanished altogether before surviving populations were rediscovered.

Captive breeding gave the species a lifeline. The next challenge is much harder: helping these animals live, breed and form self-sustaining populations in the wild.

And there are encouraging signs.

For the first time since the conservation programme began, wild-born pygmy hogs may now outnumber those........

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