Facts about this animal
The Common Warthog reaches a head-body length of 90 to 150 cm, tail length is 25 to 50 cm. They weight 50 to 150 kg, with males being heavier than females. They are usually black or brown coloured. The Common Warthog is sparsely haired, except for a distinct mane of long stiff hairs on the neck and shoulders. The face is flattened and bears one or two pairs of warts and, in both sexes, well developed tusks.
With the exception of mature males, all warthogs live in small family units. They are largely diurnal and spend the night in burrows, often using aardvark holes. They are predominantly grazers, but will eat a wide range of vegetable matter, including some agricultural crops. The gestation period in this species is about 172 days; average litter size being 3 with a range of 1 - 7
Did you know?
that human persecution in reprisal for crop-raiding, or overhunting for meat, is probably the most important threat to the survival of this species? Warthogs are easy to hunt and provide a large carcass. In non-Muslim countries, their meat is highly valued, both for local consumption and for trade in city markets, though in many countries, particularly in the west and north, warthogs benefit from the religious taboo relating to the consumption of pork.
|Name (Scientific)||Phacochoerus africanus|
|Name (English)||Common Warthog|
|Name (French)||Phacochère commun|
|Local names||Afrikaans: Vlakvaark
seSotho: Kolobe, Kolobe-moru, Mokgesi
|CITES Status||Not listed|
|CMS Status||Not listed|
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D. Gordon E. Robertson
|Range||Sub-saharan Africa outside forested areas.|
|Habitat||Open and wooded savannas, grass-steppe and semi-deserts.|
|Wild population||250.000 (1999) (Red ListIUCN 2011)|
|Zoo population||347 reported to ISIS (2007)|
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 74 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, should be followed.
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Why do zoos keep this animal
Although not beauties, warthogs have an interesting look, are very active during the opening hours of zoos, and are therefore very appealing to the public. This makes them good ambassadors for African wildlife.