Warthog
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 (Kleiman et al., 2004).
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 (Warthogs).
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 conducted by Spinage (1972), 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.
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 (Kleiman et al., 2004).
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 (Warthogs).
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 conducted by Spinage (1972), 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.
