Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) lives in open savanna across Sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds on grass and roots. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Common Warthog
- The common warthog's upper canine tusks can grow to 25.5 cm long and are unusually broad, measuring about 4.5 cm deep and 2.5 cm wide. Each tusk curves sharply, often more than 90° from its root and bends backwards as it lengthens. These enlarged teeth are not for digging; instead they serve as weapons in fights with other hogs and as a defence against predators, with the lower pair capable of delivering serious wounds.
- When danger approaches, a warthog's first response is to sprint away, reaching speeds of up to 48 km/h. During this rapid escape it holds its tail upright, a characteristic posture that signals readiness to flee. After sprinting, it darts back into its burrow rear-first, positioning its tusks outward to confront any pursuer. Although they can fight, this high-speed flight is the species' primary defence against predators.
- The common warthog is unique among pigs for thriving in open savanna and grassland, where it has specialised for grazing. In the wet season it feeds mainly on short perennial grasses, while the dry months see it digging up bulbs, rhizomes and other nutritious roots. Its diet is broadly omnivorous, also including berries, bark, fungi, dung, insects, eggs and carrion, allowing it to exploit whatever food is seasonally available.
- Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet, and when feeding they often bend their front feet backwards to move on their wrists. Calloused pads that protect the wrists develop early in the fetus, enabling this unusual locomotion. Although they can excavate their own shelters, they frequently take over abandoned aardvark or other animal burrows.
- A sow will remain in her burrow for several weeks, nursing her litter before the young begin grazing. If a mother loses her own piglets, common warthog sows have been observed to nurse foster piglets, a behaviour termed allosucking that turns them into cooperative breeders. This nursing of non-own offspring is not accidental milk theft but appears to reflect kin altruism, enhancing the survival of related young in the group.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSub-Saharan Africa
HabitatOpen savanna
DietGrass and roots
About the Common Warthog
As the golden light of dawn breaks over the savannah, a common warthog emerges from the underbrush, its tusks glinting like scimitars as it roots through the earth with its snout, uncovering a hidden world of tubers and insects. With a curious gait, it moves through the grasslands, its sturdy legs and sharp hooves carrying it with a quiet purpose, driven by an insatiable appetite and a will to thrive in this sun-baked landscape. In its unassuming yet resilient nature, the warthog embodies the very spirit of the African wilderness, a testament to the enduring power of life in this unforgiving yet majestic realm.
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Common Warthog photographed on Feravox
