Common in
the bigger Parks and usually seen in family groups or
pairs. They feed on roots and grasses throughout the day
and can often be seen on their front knees digging with
the snout (not the tusks) to get at the roots of grasses
and sedges. They farrow from June to October and having
litters of about 3 - 5. Males have large upper warts just
below their eyes. Warthogs live in holes in the ground
where the young stay until they’re big enough to
walk with their parents in the open.
Males weigh 20 to 50 pounds
more than females, but both are distinguished by disproportionately
large heads and the warts-thick protective-pads that appear on both
sides of the head. Two large pairs of warts occur below the eyes, and
between the eyes and the tusks, and a very small pair is found near the
jaw (usually just in males).
Sparse bristles cover the
warthog's body, although longer bristles form a mane from the top of the
head down the spine to the middle of the back. The skin is gray or black
(or yellowish or reddish, if the warthog has been wallowing in mud). The
long tail ends with a tuft of bristles. The warthog characteristically
carries its tail upright when it runs, the tuft waving like a tiny flag.
As the young run in single file, the tail position may serve as a signal
to keep them all together. Warthogs trot with a springy gait but they
are known to run surprisingly fast.
Warthogs
live in family groups of a female and her young. Sometimes another
female will join the group. Males normally live by themselves, only
joining the groups to mate. Warthogs engage in ritual fights in which
they charge straight on, clashing heads when they meet. Fights between
males can be violent and bloody.
Lions and leopards are the
warthog's chief enemies. Warthogs protect themselves from predators by
fleeing or sliding backwards into a hole, thus being in a position to
use their formidable tusks in an attack.
WARTHOG