(Note: The pictures of the warthogs are taken at three locations – one on a game drive in Manyeleti, one on the game drive in Chobe National Park (Botswana), and one at a resort where we were waiting to head out to the game drive in Chobe where there were several warthogs just running around the entrance.)
Next up: That other African animal with ivory – the elephant
The warthog (more correctly the “Common Warthog” is a member of the pig family, the only pig that is found in grazing and savanna habitats. It is about 3-5 feet in length and weighs between 100 to 325 pounds, the male being larger than the female. It is omnivorous, eating everything including carrion, but is not a hunter.
The warthog was another form of wild animal that was offered to us at dinner. Again, we were told that it came from a farm and not taken from the wild. The meat takes much like wild boar, not surprising since they are closely related.
Warthogs tend to stay within what is called a home range. Within that range are solo adult males, bachelor groups of subadult males, and sounders which consist of females with their young and other females.
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| A Group of Warthogs |
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| A Solo Warthog About Ready to Dig |
The most notable feature of the warthog is the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards.
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| Warthog's Tusks |
As you can see in the above photo, the lower pair is very short and is rubbed against the upper pair every time the mouth is opened and closed, thus becoming very sharp. The upper pair grow to 10 inches in length and curves up to 90 degrees. I have not been able to determine if there is a ban on warthog ivory – there are places online where you can purchase it (perhaps). And Wikipedia says it is available in carved form for the tourist trade in Africa (although I did not see any). It is, of course, much smaller than elephant ivory and this might be sufficient protection.
One of the purposes of the tusks is for digging.
The warthog lives in burrows and can dig its own burrow but more often takes over burrows that were made by aardvarks. But the warthog also digs for food with its tusks, as seen in the following two videos (with apologies for rude people who move in and out of the frame).
Note particularly that it is the lower, shorter, sharper, tusks that are most used in digging.
The tusks are also used for combat with other warthogs, often but not always as part of mating.
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| Two Warthogs Fighting |
Next up: That other African animal with ivory – the elephant
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