The common warthog ( Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa.
Subspecies
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| Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo |
| Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia |
| Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda |
| Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
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Description
The common warthog is a medium-sized species, with a head-and-body length ranging from , and shoulder height from . Females, at , are smaller and lighter than males, at .
Common warthog ivory is taken from the constantly growing canine teeth. The tusks, particularly the upper set, work in much the same way as elephant tusks with all designs scaled down. Tusks are carved predominantly for the tourist trade in eastern and southern Africa.
The head of the common warthog is large, with a mane down the spine to the middle of the back.
Ecology
The common warthog is the only pig species that has adapted to grazing and savanna habitats.[Estes, R. (1991). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates. Los Angeles, University of California Press. pp. 218–221 .] Its diet is omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs and carrion.[Kleiman, D.G., Geist, V., McDade, M.C. (2004). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. The Gale Group Inc.] The diet is seasonably variable, depending on availability of different food items. During the wet seasons, warthogs graze[Kingdon, J. (1979). East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume 3, Part B: Large Mammals. Chicago, University of Chicago Press. pp. 231–249.] During the dry seasons, they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes, and nutritious roots.
Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet. When feeding, they often bend their front feet backwards and move around on the wrists.[Vercammen, P., Mason, D.R. " Pigs, Peccaries and Hippos Status Survey and Action Plan ".]
Although capable of fighting (males fight each other during mating season), the common warthog's primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting. When threatened, warthogs can run at speeds of up to , they will run with their tails sticking up and will enter their dens rear first with tusks facing out.[ Owls of the World by Konig, Weick & Becking. Yale University Press (2009), .] However, a female common warthog will defend her piglets aggressively. On occasion, common warthogs have been observed charging and even wounding large predators. Common warthogs have also been observed allowing and to groom them to remove .[ Warthog – Africa's Jester . Wildwatch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-22.]
Social behavior and reproduction
Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range.
Etosha National park, Namibia
female warthog with young.jpg|Female with young
Etosha National park, Namibia
Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) young males fighting.jpg|Young males fighting
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) young males eyeballing.jpg|Young male kneels to protect throat
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Nolan warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus africanus) juveniles drinking.jpg| P. a. africanus juveniles
Senegal
Warthog and Impala, Etosha, Namibia.jpg|Warthog and Impala at Etosha National Park
Common warthogs are .
The typical gestation period is five to six months. When they are about to give birth, sows temporarily leave their families to farrow in a separate hole.[Jensen, S.P., Siefert, L., Okori, J.J.L., Clutlon-Brock, T.H. (1999). "Age Related Participation in Allosucking by Nursing Warthogs." Journal of Zoology London 248(4): 443–449] This behavior, known as allosucking, makes them alloparenting. Allosucking does not seem to be a case of mistaken identity or milk theft,[Walther, F. R. (1984). Communication and Expression in Hoofed Mammals. Bloomington, Indiana University Press ] Common warthogs live for an average of 7 to 11 years in the wild. Captive specimens on the other hand can live for an average of 21 years.
Conservation status
As of 1999, the common warthog population in southern Africa was estimated to be about 250,000.[Cumming, D. H. M. (1999). Study on the development of Transboundary Natural Resource Management Areas in Southern Africa – Environmental Context. Natural Resources, Land Use, and Conservation. Biodiversity Support Program. Washington, DC, USA.] Typical densities range between in protected areas, but local densities of were found on short grass in Lake Nakuru in Kenya.[ The common warthog is present in numerous protected areas across its extensive range.][
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As an invasive species
In 2020, it was noted that a population of warthogs, descendants of escaped individuals from game ranches, were running free in southern Texas in the United States.
External links
