Giant Forest Hog

The giant forest hog, the only member of its genus, is native to wooded habitats in Africa and is generally considered the largest wild member of the pig family, Suidae; however, a few subspecies of the wild boar can reach an even larger size. Giant forest hogs, like other pigs practice 'coprophagy', which means they consume feces of other animals, because they contain amounts of semi-digested food. Their main predators are the leopards and the spotted hyenas. Giant forest hogs occur in west and central Africa, where they are largely restricted to the Guinean and Congolese forests. They also occur more locally in humid highlands of the Rwenzori Mountains and as far east as Mount Kenya and the Ethiopian Highlands. The forest hog is the largest wild pig species. Males are always larger in size, often weighing 50 kg more than females.

Scientific name: Hylochoerus meinertzhageni

Higher classification: Hylochoerus

Rank: Species

Family: Suidae

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata