WARTHOG

The Warthog is one of the best loved creatures, immortalized in Hollywood movies such as The Lion King – and also one of the best loved preys of the African savannah with a range of predators preying on adults and young Warthogs alike. The young may be taken by Eagles and Jackal with Lion, Hyena, Cheetah, Leopard and Crocodile being the main enemies of the adults.

Warthogs have a wide habitat tolerance, although its distribution range shows a strong correlation with open woodland savannahs. Warthogs are day animals and spend most of their time looking for food. They have the peculiar habit of kneeling on the front knees while feeding and foraging in a localized area and could frequently be found at waterholes where they dig in the marsh and wallow in the mud with obvious enthusiasm. At night they retire to the safety of their burrow, entering always backwards with their tail first, with the exception of the piglets.

Socially, three main groups are encountered, namely solitary boars, bachelor groups and matriarchal groups.

Warthog are normally seen in small matriarchal family groups of one or more sows and their most recent piglets. Boars play no part in rearing piglets and seldom associate with sows outside the mating process.  The adult boars normally leave isolated from the family groups, in small “bachelor groups”. When the mating season arrives, fights between boars can occur, but normally end with the weaker animal running away from his contender. Promiscuous, both sexes will mate with more than one partner.

Adult boars have 2 pairs of outgrowths of thickened skin, just below the eyes. Sows have only one small pair of these “warts”.