Warthogs

African warthog and not wildboar as the europeans and americans like to call it.

Lawnmowers delux
They graze on safari lodge lawns and together with the night time feeding hippo reduce the costs of mowing the lawn substantially

Characteristics

The warthog is mainly a grazer and has adapted a practice of kneeling on its, padded front knees digging with the snout (not the tusks) to get at the roots of short grasses to eat.

Two large pairs of warts occur below the eyes, and between the eyes and the tusks, and a very small pair is found near the jaw (usually just in males).

When water is available, warthogs drink regularly and enjoy wallowing in muddy places. As part of their grooming they also take sand baths, rub against trees and termite mounds and let tick birds pick insects off their bodies

The warthog has poor vision (though better than most other African wild pigs), but its senses of smell and hearing are good.
When alarmed, the warthog grunts or snorts, lowers its mane, flattens its ears and bolts for underground cover.

warts on either side of it's face

Family Life

They farrow from June to October and having litters of about 3 - 5. Warthogs live in family groups of a female and her young in holes in the ground where the young stay until they’re big enough to walk with their elders in the open. Sometimes another female will join the group. Males normally live by themselves, only joining the groups to mate.

Territories

Warthogs engage in ritual fights in which they charge straight on, clashing heads when they meet. Fights between males can be violent and bloody.

Defence Strategies

Lions and leopards are the warthog's chief enemies. Warthogs protect themselves from predators by fleeing or sliding backwards into a hole, thus being in a position to use their formidable tusks in an attack