they not only spread seeds from plants, but they also enhance the quality of the soil. They sometimes fall prey to pythons, raptors and other carnivores. Threats The pygmy hog is considered to be one of the most threatened mammalian species today, and has been listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union of Conservation (IUCN) since 2008. Unfortunately, humans have posed one of the greatest threats to pygmy hogs, as they have severely and negatively impacted the pygmy hogs’ natural habitat. Since pygmy hogs live among some of the most important ‘thatching grasses’, their native environments are being destroyed by humans for commercial purposes. Most of these grasses are harvested annually (even those in areas which are supposedly protected), and most of them are subjected to wide-scale annual or twice-annual burning as a means of maintenance. Although ecologists have suggested burning at the beginning of the dry season in December or early January, and only once every 2-3 years, most of the grasslands continue to be burnt annually during the dry season, thereby drastically affecting the flora and faunal diversity of the area. As the survival of the pygmy hog is dependent on these tall grasses, the pygmy hog has been driven further into the corner as many of the tall grasses are continuously being harvested and burned, and others are being replaced by short grass species. In Assam, much of the pygmy hog's habitat has also been lost to settlements and agriculture due to rapid human population growth. Loss and degradation of habitat has also occurred due to livestock grazing, commercial forestry and the planting of trees in the grasslands, and due to flood control schemes. In addition, although hunting the pygmy hog for meat by the native tribes of Assam had previously not been a problem, it is now posing a very real threat to the small population of pygmy hogs that still exist in the wild. Conservation The pygmy hog is protected under Schedule I of India's Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, providing absolute protection with the highest penalties for offenders. The pygmy hog is also listed in CITES Appendix I, which includes all species of plants and animals threatened with extinction. The Pygmy Hog Conservation Breeding Programme (PHCP) was formed in 1995 in order to aid the implementation of a broad conservation action for not only this critically endangered species, but for its endangered habitat