Common Warthog

Phacochoerus africanus

The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is the familiar savanna warthog of much of sub-Saharan Africa, a wild pig with a large head, upward-curving tusks, facial pads called warts, and a coarse mane along the neck and back. It is built for open grassland, bush, and woodland edges rather than dense forest. Warthogs graze on their wrist joints, root for bulbs and tubers, and dig or visit water during dry periods. At night they often back into aardvark burrows or other holes, leaving the tusks facing the entrance. Females and young live in sounders, while mature males are more solitary.

In zoos and wildlife parks, common warthogs need strong barriers, dry resting areas, rooting substrate, and heated shelter in cold climates. Diets are usually high in roughage to match a grazing pig and prevent obesity, with enrichment that lets them dig, browse, and manipulate logs or feeders. Tusk growth, hoof wear, and skin condition are routine husbandry concerns. On African reserves and ranches, management may involve water access, fencing conflicts, crop raiding, predator-prey balance, and disease surveillance near domestic pigs, since wild suids can be part of local livestock-health planning.