This mum’s got her hands full with eight newborns!

Eight wild boar piglets at Whipsnade Zoo have been giving their mum the run around just one week after they were born.
The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144302001The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144302001
The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144302001

Since coming into the world on April 8 the stripy piglets had seemed unsure about leaving the pigsty, but their mum marched them outside just seven days later, nudging her babies around their woodland enclosure with her nose.

Mum Hinge is one of two female wild boar at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, named after the famous female-impersonation act Hinge and Bracket.

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo team leader Donovan Glyn said: “Hinge has clearly decided she doesn’t fancy staying in the sty anymore and given the piglets their marching orders.

The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144145001The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144145001
The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144145001

“With some gentle nose-nudging she actually managed to walk them around the entire paddock, which is great because now they’ve explored a bit they’ll settle in really quickly.

“The wild boar piglets aren’t terribly active so they probably needed the push from their mum to get out and about.

“They will continue to sleep a lot and drink milk, gradually weaning onto fruit and vegetables over the next few months.”

“Wild boar weigh just 0.4 – 0.8kg at birth, but a male can grow to weigh up to 175kg in adulthood.

The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144035001The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144035001
The wild boar piglets were born on April 8 PNL-150421-144035001

“Eight isn’t actually that many for a litter of wild boar. Last year, Hinge had 13 piglets, but boar tend to have less piglets the older they get.

“Our other female, Bracket, has also just given birth, so we now have quite a number of stripy piglets running around.”

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