• Scientific Name : Phacochoerus africanus
  • IUCN Status : Least Concern
  • The common warthog is a medium-sized species, with a head-and-body length ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 metres (2 feet 11 inches to 4 feet 11 inches), and shoulder height from 63.5 to 85 cm (2 ft 1 in to 2 ft 9+1⁄2 in).
  • Females, at 45 to 75 kilograms (99 to 165 pounds), are smaller and lighter than males, at 60 to 150 kg (130 to 330 lb).
  • A warthog is identifiable by the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards.
  • Common warthog ivory is taken from the constantly growing canine teeth.
  • The tusks, particularly the upper set, work in much the same way as elephant tusks with all designs scaled down.
  • The head of the common warthog is large, with a mane down the spine to the middle of the back.
  • The common warthog is the only pig species that has adapted to grazing and savanna habitats.
  •  Its diet is omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs and carrion.
  • The diet is seasonably variable, depending on availability of different food items.
  • Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet.
  • The common warthog commonly reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary.
  • Common warthogs will wallow in mud to cope with high temperatures and huddle together to cope with low temperatures.
  • The common warthog commonly reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary.
  • Common warthogs will wallow in mud to cope with high temperatures and huddle together to cope with low temperatures.
  • Although capable of fighting (males fight each other during mating season), the common warthog’s primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting.
  • Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range.
  • Common warthogs are seasonal breeders.
  • As of 1999, the common warthog population in southern Africa was estimated to be about 250,000.