Mammals · Artiodactyla · Suidae

Forest Hog

Hylochoerus meinertzhageni

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The giant forest hog is the largest wild suid in the world: an adult male can exceed 250 kilos. It is covered in long, coarse black hair, and the males have very pronounced fleshy facial swellings below the eyes. It lives in family groups called sounders and browses on grasses and leaves, with hardly any rooting, which is uncommon among pigs. Although its range is enormous, it has disappeared from wide areas through hunting for bushmeat.

Weight

100 kg – 275 kg

Size

1.3 m – 2.1 m

Lifespan

18 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Family group

Lives in small family groups with close bonds.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

SavannaRainforestMountainHerbivore Diurnal Family group Savanna Rainforest Mountain Mammal

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Fun facts

GeneralThe largest wild pig in the world: the males top 275 kg.
It is the largest wild pig in the world, and yet it was not scientifically described until 1904, one of the last large African mammals to be recognised by Western science.
Unlike almost all other suids it hardly roots at all: it grazes grass and browses leaves, and its snout is less adapted to digging than a wild boar's.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Montane forest, gallery forest and dense scrub of equatorial Africa
Size at birth: Precocial: born covered in brown fur and following its mother within a few days
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 4.3 months
Litter / clutch size: 5

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylochoerus_meinertzhageni