Kangaroo Island Feral pig, mixed with domestic pig, boar

As opposed to most other feral pigs who have become pests in Australia, the Kangaroo Island Feral pig has both a fascinating history and a huge potential in transplantation medicine:

The French explorer, Nicholas Baudin, released a breeding pair of pigs at what is now called Hog Bay, or as he called it, Anse des. Sources, on Kangaroo Island in 1803. From this one pair, a highlyu inbred population of feral pigs has developed. While some of those have mixed with domestic pigs bred on tthe island, others have kept their bloodline so pure and their gene-pool so small that they have become of major interest for biological and medical research: A small herd of Kangaroo Island feral pigs, further inbred in lab conditions, the Westran, developed by Westmead Hospital and the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Sydney, has become relevant for research in xenotransplantation and might help avoid the problem of tissue rejection of donor organs in transplants soon.
cf. www.publish.csiro.au/paper/EA05063.htm


Rare Breeds Farm, Stokes Bay:
www.postcards.sa.com.au/features/rare_breeds_farm.html