Warthogs are sparsely-haired wild pigs found across sub-Saharan Africa. These unique animals have large heads and bodies with short legs, coarse manes down their backs, and long, thin tails they hold upright when running. Their most distinctive features are the large bumps on their faces that look like warts—hence their name.
These fleshy growths help protect warthogs, shielding their eyes and faces when they’re fighting, which occurs between males during mating season. These warts are also covered in short hairs that help them feel vibrations in the ground so they can sense nearby threats while grazing. Warthogs are also well-known for their two sets of tusks—a pair of long, protruding lower tusks that measure around 15 centimetres (six inches) each and are used when fighting, and a pair of upper tusks that form a 60-centimetre (two-foot) long semicircle.
There are two warthog species, the widespread common warthog and the desert warthog. Common warthogs have larger tusks and more extensive manes than their desert cousins, and are commonly found across sub-Saharan Africa in open plains, grassland savannahs, and woodlands. Desert warthogs, on the other hand, have longer legs and less body fat, which makes them well adapted to the drier conditions of semi-arid regions of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Both species eat a predominantly herbivorous diet of roots, bulbs, bark, grasses, berries, and other plants, using their snouts to dig through the soil to find food and kneeling on their padded knees to eat short grass. They also eat worms, insects, and carrion. While largely solitary animals, a female warthog sometimes lives in communal groups—known as ‘sounders’—with other females and their piglets. However, she chases off her current litter before birthing the next after a gestation of around six months. Males and females only come together to mate.
Warthogs play important roles in the ecosystems of African savannahs and grasslands. As grazers, they aerate the soil with their snouts while scavenging for food, which supports plant growth. Their abandoned burrows provide homes for other wildlife, while the parasites that live on their skin provide food for birds. Warthogs are also key prey for lions, leopards, hyenas, and wild dogs, helping support these predator populations.
While not currently endangered, warthog numbers are declining across Africa due to poaching, droughts, and habitat loss. Preserving these unique animals is a priority for maintaining healthy ecosystems.
