Common warthog

Physical features

• Common warthogs are light grey to brown in color with very sparse black or brown hair all over the body. They have large heads with manes that run along the spine to mid-back.

• Their weight ranges from 110 to 250 pounds and body length averages three to five feet. Warthogs are sexually dimorphic with males growing 20-50 pounds larger than females.

• Both males and females possess large upper canine teeth, which grow into tusks. The large upper tusks grow into a semicircle, while the lower tusks are worn to a sharp edge and can be used to fend off predators, and males use them during fights over mating rights.

• Tusks in the males can grow up to 24 inches but average around five to six inches long.

• Warthogs have three pairs of “warts” along their faces. These warts are made up of cartilaginous connective tissue and skin. They are found above the eye, below the eye, and along the jaw and are more prominent in males, helping to protect the face during fights. They are not true warts, which are the result of a viral infection, but are instead known as “tubercles.”

• They have longer legs than other species of pig, which enables them to quickly flee from predators. They can run up to 34 miles per hour.

Diet: Omnivore

• Wild – grasses, roots, tubers, leaves, insects, small mammals, carrion

  • • Warthogs are opportunistic omnivores, meaning they will eat almost anything that is readily available.

• Zoo – Alfalfa, pig chow, apples and sweet potatoes, browse

Reproduction

• Common warthogs are sexually mature at 18-24 months.

• Breeding season occurs in the spring right after the rainy season has ended and the gestation period lasts about 160-170 days (five to six months).

• In the wild, males typically will not mate until they are four years old. They must compete with other males over females and will use their blunt upper tusks, not their more dangerous lower tusks, to do so. Without competition from the wild, warthogs in human care can reproduce around three years of age.

• Females live in groups called sounders, but will isolate themselves in burrows to give birth.

• Babies, or piglets, are born altricial with an average litter size of two to three piglets.

• Young warthogs remain in the burrow for about six to seven weeks and are completely weaned at about five months. Males play no part in the upbringing of piglets.

Interpretive Information

• Common warthogs do not dig their own burrows. They often take over found dens or abandoned aardvark burrows to seek shelter and raise their young. Burrows help maintain body temperature since warthogs have little fat or fur to protect them from sun and cold. They often enter the burrow rear-end first so they are prepared to burst out of the burrow in case of danger.

• Female warthogs, called sows, are much more social than male warthogs, called boars. Sows and their young stay in groups called sounders. Sounders may number up to 40 individuals, while boars are generally solitary.

• Related sounders have overlapping home ranges that are up to 1 ½ miles. Warthogs need area to feed, water source, wallows, and places to rest within the home range. The ranges are scent marked.

• Sows will groom on another and rest together.

• They have poor eyesight, but great hearing and sense of smell and can even smell food underground. Males will use scent glands in their lips and in pouches under their eyes to mark trees and rocks to intimidate other males. The higher the scent marking, the larger the warthog. When they run into a friendly encounter they will greet other warthogs by rubbing the glands around their eyes on one another.

• When threatened, a warthog will carry its tail upright while running, with the tuft of bristles on the end of the tail waving. This is thought to act as a warning to other warthogs if danger is near.

• They are foragers and will use their snout, and not their tusks, to root around in the dirt for food which also helps to aerate the soil. Additionally, during periods of drought, warthogs will use their snouts to dig up bulbs and rhizomes, which act as a source of water.

• Warthogs will wallow in mud, which in the wild provides sunscreen and also prevents and removes parasites from their skin. Symbiotic relationships with birds, such as the yellow hornbill, help rid warthogs of parasites as well.

• They root and forage while kneeling on their calloused, padded front wrists and use their muscular snouts and tusks to dig up food.

• Warthogs are diurnal and will seek shelter in borrows at night to protect themselves from nocturnal predators. Their main predators are lions and hyenas.

• Vocalizations include chirps, grunts, and squeals.

• There are two species of warthog: common warthog and desert warthog.

Updated July 2019