African Crafts Market

Facts about this animal

The warthog is a large species of pig that are found in moist and arid savannas. They avoid rain forests, deserts, and high mountains. Neither graceful nor beautiful, warthogs are however, remarkable animals. They are the only pigs able to live in areas without water for several months of the year.

The warthog is named after the two sets of tusks that are found on the face of the warthog. Warthogs use their tusks both for fighting off unwanted predators and other competing male warthogs, and the warthogs also use these tusks for digging in the dirt for grubs and insects.

They are remarkable for their strength, intelligence, and flexibility! Unlike many of their African counterparts, they are not endangered. This is because they are so skilled at adapting to new threats. For example, most warthogs like to forage during the light of the morning and early evening. But if they live in an area where people hunt them, they switch to foraging at night.

The face is fairly flat and the snout elongated. Eyes set high on the head enables the warthog to keep a lookout for predators even when it lowers its head to feed on short grass. The warthogs large tusks are unusual: The two upper ones emerge from the sides of the snout to form a semicircle; the lower tusks at the base of the uppers are worn to a sharp cutting edge.

Warthogs are not picky about their homes, either. Instead of digging their own burrows, they find abandoned aardvark holes or natural burrows for homes. This is where they raise their young, sleep, and hide from predators. They usually back into the burrow, so they can use their sharp tusks to scare off any animal that bothers them. Burrows also protect them from temperature extremes. It may be hot at high noon or freezing in the middle of the night above ground, but the warthog remains comfy it its burrow.

Factsheet

Scientific classification

• Swahili Name: Ngiri
• Scientific Name: Phacochoerus aethiopicus
• Size: 75cm at shoulder
• Weight: 55 - 110 kgs
• Lifespan: 12 -15 years
• Habitat: Savanna and open grasslands
  
• Diet: Grazer
• Gestation: 6 months
• Predators: Lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, hunting dogs

Conservation status: Least concern / abundant