Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
The zoo's new warthogs will be named by area residents.
Pumbaa, the warthog in the children's classic "The Lion King," is a bit careless, but silly and fun.
Hillcrest Park Zoo officials are excited to learn the personalities of their newest residents – two 3-pound warthogs who arrived on Monday.
Zoo Director Stephanie Chavez said Hillcrest has been looking to expand its African wildlife for a while now. When she saw an opportunity to adopt the brother and sister duo from Georgia she knew it was meant to be.
"It's exciting. The zookeepers are so excited, especially because they are so young and we're excited to see them grow into their personalities," Chavez said.
The babies came to Clovis without names. So Chavez decided to hold a contest.
"I wanted it to be something free that everyone can be involved in. It was just something really exciting and because they're brother and sister hopefully the public can come up with some really cool names," Chavez said.
The Warthog Naming Contest invites the public to suggest names for the female and male at: cityofclovis.org/warthog
Submissions will be accepted until 4 p.m. Friday.
Chavez said zookeepers will review the suggested names and narrow the lists to five the public can vote on.
While they may be unnamed, the two warthogs are already developing personalities.
Still very much in their baby-phase, they are vocal and playful, Chavez said. The boy warthog is a bit shy, the female is a "go-getter."
"They're both very, very loud. Very food motivated. They love to play with their toys and their tunnels," Chavez said.
Chavez said the warthog's are going through a 30-day quarantine before they can be introduced to the other zoo animals. But after the quarantine the two will have their own exhibit near the llamas and the camel.
The duo will eventually grow into 150-pound adults, Chavez said. She said once they are older, the zoo may consider finding mates for the brother and sister.
Chavez said the warthogs will start harness training soon, so they can become ambassador animals for the zoo.
