Common Warthog

• It would rather run than face a predator, though it will defend itself fiercely if cornered.
• Its gestation of 170 to 175 days is the longest of any pig.
• It feeds mainly on grasses, roots and bulbs.
• comportamientoIt shelters in burrows abandoned by other animals, aardvark holes among them, backing in so it can meet an intruder tusks first.
• comportamientoFor all its ungainly look, it kneels on its front legs to feed on short grass, a posture rare among large African mammals.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat & environment

Open savannah, grassland and semi-desert of sub-Saharan Africa, avoiding dense forest and severe desert

Birth weight

Born in a sheltered burrow

Size at birth

Born in a sheltered burrow

Sexual maturity

Female: ~18 months | Male: does not usually breed until 4 years old

Gestation / incubation

170-175 days, the longest gestation of any pig

Litter / clutch size

1 to 8 piglets per litter (2-4 on average)

Sources consulted: A-Z Animals; Animal Diversity Web; Animalia.bio; AnimalHub; SDZWA Fact Sheet (physical characteristics); SDZWA Fact Sheet (summary)

Best time: The dry season, from June to October, in the African savannah, by day; it is easily watched at the mud wallows where it rolls.