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Travel Namibia |
Introduction - The warthog gets it name from four gristly warts that protrude from the sides of its face. It is not known for certain what purpose the warts serve. One explanation is that they are used as a weapon, or, alternatively, as a defense in fending off blow from other warthogs.
Warthogs live in families of related females with their offspring. They act as as nature's gardeners and till large areas of soil through their digging exploits. Apart from aerationg the soil and softening it to allow the rain to sink in, they also bury and thus protect seeds from fire damage and at the same time they expose other bulbs to which birds such as francolins are partial.
Diet - Mainly short grasses, but also roots, fruit and even carrion.
Colouring - Brown-grey with four warts on their faces and callouses on the elbows.
Breeding - Two to five young are born from September to December - after a gestation period of just more than 5 months.
Size - The shoulder height is up to 70cm and they weigh between 60 and 80kg.