Warthogs
Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 6:40 pm
The warthog is known as the naked swine of the savanna. They get their name from the large warts found on their head. The warthog is a member of the Suidae family. The Phacochoerinae, or warthog, is one of the three subfamilies of the Suidae. The two extant species of warthog include the Phacochoerus africanus, the common warthog, and the Phacochoerus aethiopicus, the desert warthog.
Warthogs are typically 39-59 inches in length and 21.5-38 inches in height. Males are slightly larger than females; males weigh between 150-220 pounds and the female weighs between 99-156 pounds. They are found in variety of colors from light red to brown and gray to mostly black. Newborns are dark brown in color with light spots. They have a large flat face with prominent tusks. The upper tusks average about 8-24 inches in length and the lower tusks are about 4 inches in length; both tusks are much shorter for the female. Another key physical aspect of male warthogs is the presence of warts on their face. On the male, large warts are located below the eyes of the male and can be up to 6 inches long. The warts are mere bumps on the females and young.
Warthogs can tolerate higher than normal body temperatures, which is believed to be due to their ability to conserve moisture inside their body. They have also been known to cope with low temperatures. Behavioral strategies, such as wallowing and huddling together, are used to help them tolerate high and low temperatures respectively. Their lack of hair and sub-dermal fat leaves them very poorly insulated, in turn, huddling together and other such warming behavioral strategies are essential.
Warthogs live for approximately 18 years. A study showed that warthogs departed from the typical survival curve of African ungulates. Warthogs have a heavy age-constant number of deaths for most of their life. The warthog differed from the other species in Spinage's study not in its potential length of life, but in its high reproductive rate. The other species are monovular, but the warthogs are polyvular, with annual litters of 2-7 offspring. Such a high reproductive rate is offset by a high mortality rate. Warthogs have almost an equal chance of dying at any age up to middle-age; in contrast, the chances of survival of the other ungulates tend to increase over this period. Therefore, it is the reproductive rate which thus apparently determines the pattern of survival, not bodily size or length of lifespan.
Warthogs prefer moist habitats with plentiful vegetation and tend to avoid drier, open areas. They are found in the Northern and Southern Savanna, but are absent from deserts, rainforests and mountains above 10,000 feet. Specifically, warthogs are found from Somalia to east and southern Zaire down to Cape Province in South Africa. Their presence has also been noted on Madagascar and on Mayotte Island.
Warthogs are mainly diurnal animals and sleep in self-excavated burrows or in heavy thickets of vegetation during the day. Most of the holes that warthogs use for sleeping and protection have been excavated by aardvarks.
Warthogs are omnivores, consuming roots, bulbs, fungi, fruit, eggs, invertebrates, birds, small mammals, and carrion. Warthogs have a very keen sense of smell, which they use to find food. They won't hunt other animals for food. Their snouts are used to root in the ground and can often do serious damage to crops in a short amount of time. Due to their ability to exploit buried and highly nutritious rhizomes and bulbs, as many as 78 warthogs per square mile are able to thrive in the best habitat. They drink regularly and in hot, dry weather they use wallows daily. However, they are the only pigs able to live in areas without water for several months of the year.
When it comes to fighting, warthogs would rather run than fight, but they can be very fierce if forced to fight. They are known for ferociously defending their family. Warthogs can reach a top speed of 34 mph in emergencies. It is characteristic of warthog to run with its tail straight up like an antenna. Warthogs are slower and have less endurance than most savanna ungulates; therefore, burrows are essential to their safety when being chased. Also, warthogs have poor eyesight, putting them at an even greater disadvantage. Some of their typical predators include cheetahs, wild dogs, and the spotted hyena. Burrows do provide much needed protection for warthogs, particularly at night, yet leaving the burrows in the morning can be risky for lions often sniff out occupied burrows at night. Juveniles often have very low survival rates. Their vulnerability to prey along with their susceptibility to cold exposure and malnutrition during drought result in juvenile survival rates of less than fifty-percent during the first year.
