The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a distinctive and adaptable member of the pig family (Suidae) found in sub-Saharan Africa. This article delves into the dietary habits of this fascinating creature, exploring its omnivorous nature, seasonal variations in food sources, and unique feeding behaviors.
Common Warthog: An Overview
The common warthog, a medium-sized species, is characterized by a head-and-body length ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 meters (2 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in) and a shoulder height of 63.5 to 85 cm (25.0 to 33.5 in). While females weigh between 45 to 75 kg (99 to 165 lb), males are larger, weighing 60 to 150 kg (130 to 330 lb). Identifiable by two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards, the common warthog also possesses a large head with a mane down the spine to the middle of the back. Sparse hair covers the body, typically black or brown in color, and the tail ends with a tuft of hair.
Habitat and Distribution
The common warthog is usually found in open and wooded savannas, grass steppes, and semi-deserts throughout Africa. They prefer open areas and avoid rainforest and severe desert. The warthog has been found living at elevations of up to 3,000ft on Mt. Kilimanjaro and along the coastal regions of Africa. Common warthogs mostly live in sub-Saharan Africa and can be found almost everywhere there is open country and grasslands. They generally avoid wooded areas and don’t venture into deserts, steppes, or thickets, preferring large swaths of land where they can graze peacefully. Additionally, they are often found near water sources and live within the range of a perennial water source, especially during the dry season.
Omnivorous Diet and Seasonal Variability
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 the availability of different food items. They are predominantly grazers and mostly eat grass, tubers, and roots. However, in the wild, these omnivores will also eat leaves, bark, stems, seeds, fruits, and carrion, as well as insects and other small animals that lie beneath the surface of the soil.
During the wet seasons, common foods include grasses and berries when they can be found. During the dry season, common warthogs have to dig to find their food. The grasses die out, and berries and fruits aren’t growing. Common foods during the dry season include bark, bulbs, roots, and tubers. They will use their snout and tusks to dig up rhizomes and bulbs, these foods provide water during periods of drought. The common warthog will also eat their own dung and that of rhinos, African buffalo, waterbuck, and francolin.
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Foraging and Feeding Behavior
Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet. When feeding, they often bend their front feet backward and move around on the wrists. Calloused pads that protect the wrists during such movement form early in the development of the fetus. The soil in an area of ground that has been foraged by a warthog or other species of pig is obviously overturned, and it is unlikely that anything edible remains.
A common feeding behavior for warthogs is to fold their front legs and waddle around with their snout close to the ground. This is done when feeding to get closer to the ground and be more comfortable. They are active foragers, using their powerful snouts to root in the soil.
Tusks: Form and Function
A warthog is identifiable by the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards. The lower pair, which is far shorter than the upper pair, becomes razor-sharp by rubbing against the upper pair every time the mouth is opened and closed. The upper canine teeth can grow to 25.5 cm (10.0 in) long and have a wide elliptical cross section, being about 4.5 cm (1.8 in) deep and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide. A tusk will curve 90° or more from the root and will not lie flat on a table, as it curves somewhat backward as it grows. 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. They rarely use them for digging; instead, the tusks primarily serve defensive purposes.
Social Behavior and Diet
Common warthogs are not territorial but do keep to their home ranges. Females will live in groups with their young and other females. The males will leave the natal group at around two years of age but will stay within the home range. These animals have two facial glands, tusks, and sebaceous. Both sexes will begin to mark at six to seven months of age. The male of the species tends to mark more often than females and will mark sleeping and feeding areas and around waterholes.
Adaptations for Survival
Warthogs have developed hard calluses on their knees as a response to their feeding behavior. The characteristic behavior of common warthogs is to run with their tail pointing straight up. As a species, the common warthog has poor eyesight but keen hearing and smell. When alarmed, they run with their tails held upright as an alarm for others. They are primarily diurnal, the warthog will often take refuge at night in their own or abandoned aardvark burrows.
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Predators and Defense Mechanisms
The common warthog's main predators are humans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, wild dogs, and hyenas. Jackals, Verreaux's eagle owls, and martial eagles sometimes prey on piglets. However, a female common warthog will defend her piglets aggressively. On occasion, common warthogs have been observed charging and even wounding large predators.
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. When threatened, warthogs can run at speeds of up to 48 km/h (30 mph). They will run with their tails sticking up and will enter their dens rear first with tusks facing out. Warthogs retreat into burrows when predators are near, often preventing the predator from reaching them.
Conservation Status
While not currently endangered, warthog numbers are declining across Africa due to poaching, droughts, and habitat loss. Preserving these unique animals is a priority for maintaining healthy ecosystems. The common warthog are currently not undergoing any significant decline however they are very susceptible to periods of prolonged drought and are also hunted extensively by trophy hunters. They are also persecuted by farmers for crop damage which has resulted in them becoming extirpated from some regions. The common warthog is present in many protected areas across its range and is part of many respected zoological collections across the globe.
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