Although certainly not glamorous animals, the warthog is an integral and very interesting member of the African savanna. Adult boars stand at about 70cm at the shoulder and have a mass of up to 100kg. Females stand at 60cm and have a mass of up to 70kg. The grey body is covered with coarse bristles about 40cm long. The legs are short and slender relative to the body, and characteristic features are the elongated head and distinctive facial warts.
Males have two pairs of warts, females one.
The canine teeth grow out sideways from the jaws as protuberant tusks and are very important as defensive weapons. They are widely distributed throughout western, central and eastern Africa, excluding the forests of the Congo Basin. They are also found throughout Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and are found in the northern and eastern sectors of South Africa. They are particularly associated with open ground, grassland, floodplain, vleis and the heavily grazed areas around pans and waterholes. They also utilise woodland and open scrub and are extremely partial to freshly sprouting grass following a burn.