How are hungry pigs helping the planet?

Conservationists are hoping that some snuffling pigs will help transform a nature reserve.

Pigs are brilliant at turning over soil and breaking down thick patches of bracken and grasses.

So, the team are putting the trotting ecosystem engineers to work, and hope that their rooting about in the earth will create micro-habitats for plants and wildlife.

The three amigos aren't running lose in Derbyshire though, they've been placed in a fenced area of the meadow at the reserve, where visitors can watch them at work.

Boars affecting the UK's landscape isn't new.

In the past, the UK had native wild boar, but they were hunted to extinction in the Middle Ages. Now, the team hopes the pigs will take on their role.

As the pigs clear large patches of vegetation more delicate, flowering plant species will have space and sunlight to grow.

They'll then attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, and create new habitats for insects.

In turn, larger animals like birds and small mammals will also be attracted to the area.

Conservationists at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust will be closely as the pigs do their work.

It's hoped that this experiment will create better understanding of how pigs help to transform landscapes and, if they could be used in other places, in the future!

'Snout wrong with that!