The name given to a group of warthogs is a ‘sounder’.
Size
65 - 84 cm shoulder height
Weight
Males ave 80 kg
Females ave 65 kg
Lifespan
18 years
Habitat & Distribution
Only ‘pig’ adapted for grazing in savanna habitats
Prefers open ground: grassland, vleis, areas around waterholes, open woodland & scrub
Avoids forest, dense undergrowth and desert
Drinks and wallows daily, where water is available
Home range size ave 174 ha (64 - 374 ha)
Gestation
160 - 170 days
Number of young
2 - 3
Food
Wet season = grazes mostly on lawn-like swathes of grass.
Dry season = underground rhizomes of perennial grasses and sedges, also eats bulbs, tubers, herbs, shrubs and fruits, fallen figs, marulas and monkey oranges.
Predators
Lion, leopard, hyena, wild dog; piglets are taken by pythons, cheetah, jackals, raptors and any other medium-sized carnivores
By Megan Emmett