Edinburgh Zoo’s adorable litter of critically endangered piglets are given names as they turn 10 weeks old

Edinburgh Zoo’s four impossibly cute Visayan warty piglets have now been given their names by adoring staff.

Expert vets at the local wildlife conservation charity confirmed the four piglets were female at their very first health check – and keepers have named the adorable sisters Hilda, Effy, Esme and Ruth.

Visayan warty pigs are critically endangered and there is thought to be as few as 200 of them remaining in the wild. The species is now extinct in 98% of their former range and they are only found on two small islands in the Philippines, making them one of the rarest wild pigs in the world.

Visitors can spot mum Nikki and her piglets, who are now 10 weeks old, exploring their home at Edinburgh Zoo.

After the piglets were born on June 25, Jonny Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at the xoo said: “Agricultural expansion and logging have devastated vast amounts of their habitat and they are also hunted for their meat, making them one of the rarest wild pigs in the world.

“We are excited to welcome four piglets who will act as incredible ambassadors for their species in the wild, inspiring more people to protect, value and love nature.”