Phacochoerus aethiopicus
desert warthog

Desert warthogs are found in the Horn of Africa, in central and eastern Kenya, western Somalia, and southeastern Ethiopia. They were also known from South Africa, but are now extinct there. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001)

Desert warthogs are primarily a savannah species, though they have higher tolerance for dry conditions than common warthogs, Phacochoerus africanus, and so can live in more arid and desert-like conditions. They generally stay away from heavily forested zones and areas with thick undergrowth. Most of their grazing area is at low elevations as they have a low tolerance to cold. Phacochoerus aethiopicus is currently a tropical species, though populations that are now extinct may have extended into temperate zones. (Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

At over 1 m long and generally more than 0.5 m tall at the shoulder, desert warthogs are large. They have a stocky build and a large, somewhat flattened head. There is significant sexual dimorphism, males are significantly larger than females. The characteristic "warts" that give Phacochoerus species their common name also differ between the sexes; males have much larger and more protrusive warts, which are paired masses of dense facial tissue. Males also have larger tusks (elongated canine teeth) than females. Juvenile desert warthogs are like adults, but smaller with much reduced "warts" and no tusks. Tusks gradually appear after the onset of puberty. Most desert warthogs are brown to dark brown with short and sparse hairs covering much of the body. A crest of much longer hair runs along the back of the neck of males and females. A portion of this crest is sometimes whitish in color. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979; Randi et al., 2002)

The clearest morphological trait that separates desert warthogs from common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) is the lack of functional incisors. These two species are quite distinct genetically and common warthogs are usually slightly larger than desert warthogs. Desert warthogs are distinguishable from closely related bushpigs (Potamochoerus porcus) and giant hogs (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) by their distinctive facial warts and larger tusks. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979; Randi et al., 2002)

Warthogs have an average lifespan between 7 and 18 years. However, no study on lifespan has been done specifically on desert warthogs. Among juveniles, warthog mortality in the wild is about 50% per year, with adult mortality dropping to around 15% per year. The main limit on longevity in the wild is predation. Boars often have higher mortality rates than females due to a tendency to sleep out in the open (not in a burrow), especially during and after the mating season. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

Desert warthogs create deep burrows or steal them from other burrowing species. These burrows mainly provide protection from predators, especially for the young. Warthogs may use up to 10 different burrows when moving throughout their home range, ensuring that one is always nearby if they are threatened. Desert warthogs live in social groups known as "sounders." These groups are primarily made up of females and their offspring, with males rarely drifting in an out when it is not the mating season. All members of the group, including adult males if present, usually follow the oldest and largest female. Often the home ranges of different sounders will overlap and the groups will at different times occupy the same burrows. A sounder that finds a burrow already taken will seek out a different one. Members of different groups rarely interact otherwise and almost never exchange members. On very hot days warthogs will stay in the shade for much of the time. In cooler weather they spend much of their time grazing on grasses or digging for roots and tubers. They are strongly diurnal, retreating to burrows when it becomes dark. However, in areas where human persecution is more intense many groups have started to forage later into the night. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

Home Range

Desert warthogs are generally sedentary at times, typically staying within a home range 3 to 4 km wide, but they may travel over 7 km in a day. Home ranges are often centered around a watering hole of some kind. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Kingdon, 1979)

Smell is the most important and keen sense that desert warthogs have. Much of warthog communication is though scent marking, through tusk and preorbital glands and urination. Males use urination to temporarily mark a burrow as his own. Sound is also very important, as they have a variety of warning calls used to alert the group to the presence of a predator. Because they have comparatively weaker sight, smell and hearing are the main ways by which desert warthogs are alerted to danger. Sight can be important in various social displays to signify dominance, submissiveness, or an imminent attack. Desert warthogs have a "strutting" behavior, consisting of walking deliberately around a more submissive warthog with the crest of hair and tail fully erect. Submissive displays include lying flat against the ground or even rolling over to expose the belly. Male warthogs fight to establish dominance, including pushing with the snout and horizontal strikes with tusks. (Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

Warthogs are herbivores which feed mainly on grasses and roots. Because of their harsh environments, desert warthogs are probably less picky eaters than common warthogs, which tend to feed only on select plants. Warthogs eat a variety of grasses and shrubs, and occasionally fruits and some insects in hard times. An important element in their diet is underground rhizomes, bulbs, and tubers, all of which are dug up with the tusks and snout. They sometimes eat their own dung and the dung of other animals. During times of little food, they have been known to eat carrion. Plants eaten by warthogs include Sporobolus pellucida, Microchloa kunthii, Brachiaria, Cynodon dactylon, Chrysochloa orientalis, Bothriochloa, Cenchrus, Panicum maximum, Eragrostis tenuifolia, Harpachne schimperi, and Digitaria macrobole. They eat the fruit of Balanites, Sclerocarya, and Ficus species. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

The main predators of desert warthogs are large cats, including lions, leopards, and cheetahs. Hyaenas have also been known to hunt warthogs. Adult and juvenile warthogs run to the nearest burrow when threatened. All but the youngest individuals enter the hole tail-first, enabling them to use their tusks against the attacking predator. Though they can run at 55 km/hr, warthogs do not have the speed or endurance that many other prey animals have in sub-Saharan Africa, and so must get to a burrow as fast as possible. Lions pose an especially great threat to desert warthogs because they can dig warthogs out of their burrows. Desert warthogs have specific warning grunts and sounds that cause all members of a group to be on high alert. Juvenile warthogs, upon hearing a specific sound from the mother, will freeze in place then dash to the nearest burrow as fast as possible. (Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1979)

All warthogs consume large amounts of grass and may influence plant communities through their foraging. Their ability to take and use the burrows of other animals (such as aardvarks) has a negative ecological impact on those species. Because they are a host for the tick Ornithodorus moubata, warthogs are a reservoir for African swine fever. They also serve as a preferred host for tsetse flies. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Estes, 1991)

Warthogs can be agricultural pests, causing damage to bean, rice, or wheat fields. Their burrowing can cause problems for livestock or machinery. In the past warthog elimination campaigns were established to control warthogs as reservoirs for African swine fever, which can be transmitted to domesticated pigs. These campaigns are less common now as it is known that the disease is transmitted by ticks and thus removing the original wild host will do little to stop its spread. Rarely, and only when threatened, warthogs have attacked humans. This has lead to injury and, in a few cases, death. (Kingdon, 1979)

Warthogs are iconic animals of the African savanna, so they can contribute to ecotourism. They also can be hunted and used as a source of food. (Estes, 1991)

Desert warthogs are not considered threatened, as they have a large distribution and are adaptable. However, populations are considered in decline and face continued threats through human persecution in the form of hunting and competition for foraging habitat with domestic livestock. In areas where human persecution is intense many populations have become somewhat nocturnal- a change from their normal diurnal lifestyle. (Kingdon, 1979)

For most of the last century, African warthogs were considered a single species, Phacochoerus aethiopicus. It was only in the last decade that desert warthogs (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) and common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) were recognized as two distinct species. This recognition was based mainly on genetic evidence. As a result there is little specific research that has been done on the behavior, ecology, and life history of desert warthogs. Nearly all available information on warthogs, especially from prior to 2001, may or may not be applicable to what is now known as Phacochoerus aethiopicus. However, the two species are similar in appearance, ecological impact, and behavior and much of the above information is based on a combination of studies on both species of African warthogs. Information may change as further scientific research is completed. (d'Huart and Grubb, 2001; Randi et al., 2002)