Warthog: how pigs fight (15 photos)

"Hakuna Matata!" they said. "Eat bugs and don't worry!" they added. But life in Africa is not about singing songs and counting stars. The savannah is merciless to those who show weakness.





Look at the warthog. It would seem like an ordinary pig. But they are not skewered. They skewer lions and leopards!



Come on, Barsik, go back to your place!

Warthogs are a whole genus of pigs, distant relatives of ordinary domestic piglets. They populated the harshest lands of the Black Continent and turned into extreme survivalists. There are desert warthogs that live in the deserts (oh how!) in East Africa, and there are ordinary ones that have settled tightly in the savannas across the continent.





The desert warthogs differ from the usual ones in that they are a little smaller, not so fanged and look more like skinny runts that barely survive among the dust and thorns.

Disney greatly embellished the image of African pigs. A real warty pig looks as if life has beaten it up. Although why "how"? The everyday life of ungulates is quite an adventure. Well, take a look: an awkward mane along the entire spine, a barrel-shaped bristly carcass weighing almost 150 kilograms, thin legs with hooves, a long horse-like muzzle, huge fangs up to 60 cm and, of course, warts. And if the hairstyle is a matter of taste, then couldn't they have found a good dermatologist in the savannah?



My face is fine. But yours could very soon crack from such words!

Yes, the warts look peculiar, but this is not a skin defect or a disease, but special fatty deposits. On Pumbaa's skull, in places of growths, there are even special bone thickenings. And if fangs are a sword, then warts serve as a kind of shield. They help in a fight, covering the eyes and other vulnerable parts of the muzzle.



The more warts a boar has, the further away you should stay from him.

The older the male, the stronger his skull and the more warts - their size increases with age. So this is an indicator of the boar's maturity and strength.



Oh, what are we having for dinner today? Hyena shashlik?

Pigs have to demonstrate their strength and warts quite often. No matter how you look at it, a hundredweight of pork is not lying around on the road. When attacked by a predator, a warthog has two options. Of course, at first it will try to run away. In a straight line, a pig can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h!



The warthog is so cool that it grows two pairs of fangs at once! One is bigger, the other is smaller.

And it runs not just wherever its eyes look, but to its hole. Then it turns around and blocks the entrance with its fanged muzzle. One precise blow, and the predator itself turns into shashlik! The warthog has many enemies - all medium and large predators of the savannah hunt it. But only lions risk attacking adult boars. And they sometimes leave hungry and beaten.



Just two long-haired guys arguing over who has the coolest hairdo.

Well, if you corner an African boar, you won't be able to resist either. The brazen and strong beast will fight for its life to the last. Even in a peaceful environment, a warthog can cause a stir. For example, in South Africa's Kruger National Park, tourists filmed an absurd scene: a pig occupied a watering hole and wouldn't let even an elephant get to it!



Well, this is not how I imagined Simba and Pumbaa meeting when I was a child...

At the same time, the pigs themselves are not picky about food, and there is not much to choose from in the savannah. If you want, you eat grass, if you don't want, you eat it anyway. Of course, grazing with such a huge fanged muzzle is not very convenient. Warthogs have to get down on their knees and nibble grass like this.



The calluses on the front legs are so important that they begin to develop even at the embryonic stage!

Sometimes the meager diet is supplemented with larvae, tubers and anything else that the ungulate can find. For example, carrion. Both satisfying and nutritious! And they can also drop into the city and profit from the fresh harvest in the fields, for which the locals do not particularly like them.



My friend and I went shopping.

Warthogs graze in small groups of up to 15-20 pigs. And when there is enough food, passions in the herd heat up. The season of love begins! The males announce a mating tournament. Only here they use not poems and serenades, but huge tusks. True, boars do not play “at full power” against their own. Such fights are more reminiscent of a mix of wrestling and a bulldozer rally. The boars push, growl and butt, but without bloody spectacles.



Sanya, why are we fighting over this Masha? Let's go drink some beer and nibble some grass?

The winner gets the attention of a female or even a harem of several beautiful ladies, does his business and grunts away. Although not everyone does this - sometimes boars stay to live in the herd and even protect the pigs with their piglets.



Wow, life has tossed you around, Disney princess.

After 5.5 months of pregnancy, the female gives birth to up to 8 pumba eggs and jealously protects them. The nest is usually an abandoned hole of someone more diligent, for example, an aardvark. The first weeks, the babies sit quietly and keep quiet, while their mother grazes nearby all day. Over time, the piglets will go out and explore the world. After 4 months, they will completely switch to adult food, and by 2-3 years old, they themselves will be ready for mating tournaments and bending over predators!



Among the pigs, the warthog is the only one that uses holes and is able to dig them on its own. To make a passage, it works with its powerful head with fangs, like a shovel.

By the way, Disney didn't lie to us about one thing: warthogs really do have friends in the savannah. Only they are not meerkats, but mongooses. The nimble animals clean the boars' fur with their small paws, and in return, they help the mongooses find food by turning over large logs and digging holes. And everyone is happy!



With my brothers in the SPA salon.