Warthog

The wart hog is a medium sized pig, inherently wild, and are the proud possessors of a short neck a wide broad head, powerful strong bodies which are covered with bristly hair that is colored black or white, set on tough gray skin.

They have long tasseled tails, and larger rather fleshy wart type growths on the face that protect them during their mating rituals.

They have two sets of long and distinctive, as well as dangerous tusks.

A Warthog's tusk are razor sharp
A Warthog's tusk are razor sharp

Warthogs live in Saharan and sub Saharan savannas, and the woodlands, and are common sights on the open plains and grassy areas, where they live and eat.

The Warthog has rather poor eyesight, but have a highly developed sense of smell and incredibly acute hearing. They are diurnal, active during the daylight hours and being highly vocal they communicate with other members of their family group using grunts, squeals and squeaks.

The wart hog can charge a predator or a threat at up to 30 miles per hour with two sets of razor sharp tusks and most predators will flee the warthog, as they are more than strong enough to protect themselves.

Two warthogs emerging from an old den
Two warthogs emerging from an old den
The warthog will usually take over abandoned dens to have their litters, but may in some cases make their own under the rocks or in a burrow. They will live in groups of about twenty, usually a few females and their litters.

The females litter will number about 4 to 7 piglets, after about 175 days of gestation.

The young weigh between 18 and 32 ounces when they are born and are born in a grass-lined burrow underground.

Piglets remain in the nest about 10 days before leaving it for the first time to head out with their mother. Strangely, no mother pig will have more piglets in her litter than she has teats. Each piglet has its own teat. Weaning occurs at about 3 months, but young pigs remain with their mothers, not leaving the group.

Warthogs eat grass, herbs, roots and tubers, fruits and bulbs, as well as picking grass with their teeth and lips.
Because of the shape of their heads and bodies the warthog has to feed while it is lowered down on its knees, which quickly develop very thick pads on them.

The males will forage and eat alone, while the females with their last litter will always forage together in a family group.

Warthogs feed on grasses, herbs, tubers, leaves, fruits and bulbs. They pluck grasses with their incisors and lips and use the tough upper edge of their noses to scoop roots out of the soil. Because of their short necks and long legs, warthogs must feed lowered on their knees, which have developed thickened pads. Males forage alone, while sows and their recent litter will forage together in family parties.

Although Warthogs are not endangered yet, they are the carrier of a fatal illness in some cases, which is called the deadly sleeping sickness. This disease does affect man and since they carry it, as well as some other diseases that can affect the villagers livestock, the warthog is sometimes eradicated in agricultural areas of Africa.

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