Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)
Samburu National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Warthogs “kneel” down to feed. Their short necks, long legs and the special protective pads on their wrists/knees allow them to eat lower grasses easily.
The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa.
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. During the wet seasons, warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry seasons, they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes, and nutritious roots.
Although they can dig their own burrows, they commonly occupy abandoned burrows of aardvarks and other animals. The common warthog reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary.
Although capable of fighting (males aggressively fight each other during mating season), the common warthog's primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting. The common warthog's main predators are humans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, wild dogs and hyenas.
Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range. Common warthogs live in groups called sounders. Females live in sounders with their young and with other females. Subadult males associate in bachelor groups, but live alone when they become adults. – Wikipedia
Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)
Samburu National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Warthogs “kneel” down to feed. Their short necks, long legs and the special protective pads on their wrists/knees allow them to eat lower grasses easily.
The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa.
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. During the wet seasons, warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry seasons, they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes, and nutritious roots.
Although they can dig their own burrows, they commonly occupy abandoned burrows of aardvarks and other animals. The common warthog reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary.
Although capable of fighting (males aggressively fight each other during mating season), the common warthog's primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting. The common warthog's main predators are humans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, wild dogs and hyenas.
Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range. Common warthogs live in groups called sounders. Females live in sounders with their young and with other females. Subadult males associate in bachelor groups, but live alone when they become adults. – Wikipedia