Name: Warthog, African Lens-Pig

Scientific Name: Phacochoerus africanus

African Names: Ngiri (Swahili), Indlovudawana (Zulu), Intibane (Zulu), Njiri (Shona), Kolobê Yanaga (Tswana)

Height: Up to 30 inches at the shoulder

Average Adult Weight: 120 to 150 pounds

Life Span: Up to 15 years in the wild

Description: Warthogs come in a variety of colors from light red to brown and gray to mostly black. They have a large flat face with tusks. The upper tusks average about 8-24 inches in length and the lower tusks are about 4 inches in length. In the female, the tusks are much shorter. Male warthogs have warts on their face located below the eyes. The warts are mere bumps on the females and piglets.

Habitat: Warthogs prefer moist areas with plentiful vegetation and avoid dry, open areas.

Countries found in: Somalia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Malawi, Madagascar

Babies: Litters of up to four piglets. Piglets are generally dark brown in color with light spots.

Food: Warthogs are omnivores, consuming roots, bulbs, fungi, fruit, eggs, invertebrates, birds, small mammals, and carrion.

Group Name: Sounder

Habits: Warthogs like to sleep in burrows or in heavy thickets of vegetation during the day. Many of their burrows have been created by other animals, although warthogs will excavate their own burrows.

Male warthogs live on their own only joining with female warthogs when they are in heat. Female warthog live in sounders of one to three females and their piglets.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Predators: Humans, lions, leopards, crocodiles, and hyenas.

Interesting Facts:Warthogs run with their tail straight up in the air.
The name Pumba, the warthog in Disney's Lion King, is taken from the Swahili word "pumbaa" which means fool or idiot.