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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Mick Hilleary

Warthog

Phacocoerus aethiopicus

Physical Characteristics

  • The sparse coat is bristly with a long mane running to the middle of the back, and a few whiskers on the chin. The tail is long, thin and tufted at the end. The skin is colored slate or clay and is very thick. The head has a broad, shovel-shaped nose and two or three pairs of fleshy bumps, larger in the male. Tusks grow from the upper and lower jaws, also larger in males.
  • Size of average adult
    • length: body = 3 - 4 feet, tail = 13 - 19 inches
    • height: 2 feet at shoulder
    • weight: 110 - 330 pounds
  • Approximate life span is 18 years.

Diet

  • Wild: grasses, roots, berries, bark and occasionally carrion

Behavior

  • Travel in groups called sounders consisting of 1 - 2 sows (females) and young offspring, males usually travel alone
  • Warts seem to protect the face during fights
  • Use burrows for shelter, back in when entering, in the morning burst out at top speed to get a running start on any predators
  • Would rather run than fight, but can be fierce if forced to fight
  • Allow birds to eat the parasites that live on their bodies
  • Kneel while feeding, slide along on the tough calluses on the knees
  • Carry tails straight and high while running
  • Reproduction
    • sexual maturity: 18 - 20 months, most males do not breed until 4 years old
    • breeding season: during the local rainy season
    • gestation: 170 - 175 days
    • 1 - 8 young are born in a burrow, suckle for up to 4 months, but leave the burrow at one week to feed on grass

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: savanna and sparse forests
  • Distribution: Africa, south of the Sahara
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