Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)

Mammal Wild pig Grazer

Overview

The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family found across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Adapted to open savanna and grassland, it is a familiar sight in many African parks, often grazing on its knees or trotting away with its tufted tail held straight up.

Warthogs are a good example of how a medium-sized herbivore fits into a landscape dominated by larger animals and predators, relying on burrows, vigilance, and speed rather than size for safety.

Conservation note: the common warthog is a widespread species and has generally been assessed in a lower category of concern, but as always, verify current status at iucnredlist.org before relying on it.

Classification

Taxonomic classification of Phacochoerus africanus
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Suidae
Genus	Phacochoerus
Species	P. africanus

Warthogs belong to Suidae, the pig family. A second species, the desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), occurs in parts of the Horn of Africa.

Habitat & Range

Warthogs favour open and lightly wooded habitats — savanna, grassland, and floodplains — across sub-Saharan Africa. They depend on access to grazing, water for at least part of the year, and burrows for shelter, and tend to avoid dense forest.

Diet & Feeding

Warthogs are predominantly grazers, eating grasses and also digging for roots, bulbs, and tubers with their snout and tusks, especially in the dry season. Their habit of kneeling to feed on short grass is one of their most recognisable behaviours.

Behavior & Social Life

Warthogs are active mainly by day and shelter in burrows at night. Females and young form family groups called sounders, while adult males are more solitary outside the breeding season. When alarmed they run quickly with the tail raised, which may help young keep the group in sight in tall grass.

Appearance & Recognition

Warthogs have a large flat head, a mane of coarse hair along the back, sparse body hair, and the distinctive facial pads that give them their name. Both sexes carry curved tusks — upper and lower pairs — with the upper tusks often prominent. The combination of the big head, the kneeling feeding posture, and the upright tail when running is unmistakable.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Warthogs are widespread and adaptable, though they can come into conflict with farming in some areas and are affected by hunting and habitat change. Their reliance on burrows links them ecologically to burrow-diggers such as aardvarks. For current status, consult authoritative conservation sources.

More photos of the warthog

Female common warthog with young in dry grassland. — Common warthog female with young.
Image: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sourced facts

Each value below is traced to the specific reference that states it. Open a row's evidence to see the source, where to look in it, and how firmly it supports the value. Sources checked 2026-10-09.

Sourced facts about the Warthog, with the reference supporting each
Fact	What the source states	Evidence
Geographic range	Africa outside forested areas, from Mauritania to Ethiopia and south to Namibia and eastern South Africa.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Geographic Range Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Habitat	Open and wooded savannas, grass-steppes and semi-deserts; avoids rainforest and severe desert; found up to 3000 m on Kilimanjaro and along African coasts.Warthogs need wallows to cool off and burrows to stay warm at night, and they often use cleared former woodland. ADW says they commonly use aardvark holes for sleeping (Behavior).	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Habitat Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Diet	Primarily grazers that also eat roots, berries, bark of young trees and occasionally carrion; they dig out rhizomes and bulbs with snout and tusks.Specialised for short grasses, they feed lowered onto calloused wrist joints. They also eat their own dung and that of rhinoceroses, African buffalos, waterbucks and francolins. The data panel classes the species as 'omnivore'.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Food Habits Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Body size	Head and body length 900 to 1500 mm; shoulder height 635 to 850 mm.Not broken down by sex. Upper tusks are 255 to 635 mm long in males and 152 to 255 mm in females.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Physical Description Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Body mass	50 to 150 kg; females are 15 to 20 percent lighter than males.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Physical Description Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Lifespan	Wild: average 7 to 11 years (eastern Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania); lifespan range 15 to 18 years. Captivity: 20.9 years.The 7 to 11 year average comes from one Tanzanian population study; the captive figure is from AnAge, cited by ADW.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Lifespan/Longevity Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Activity pattern	Primarily diurnal, sheltering in burrows at night; in areas with human disturbance they often become more active at night.ADW says they are primarily diurnal when there is no human disturbance.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Behavior; Predation Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Social structure	Family groups called soundings (females and young) of up to 18 members; males usually disperse after 2 years of age and become solitary or form bachelor groups.Warthogs are not territorial; groups' home ranges (0.62 to 3.3 km²) overlap extensively. The mating system is polygynandrous, and adult males join female groups briefly to mate.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Behavior Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Distinguishing traits	Three pairs of facial warts. Common warthogs have two upper and four to six lower incisors, unlike Cape warthogs, which lack incisors.ADW also notes large upper tusks, a mane down the spine to mid-back, sparse body hair and a long tail ending in a tuft.	Matches source · Animal Diversity Web — how we know Animal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Where Physical Description Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
Conservation status	Least Concern (LC), global assessment, 2016	Matches source · IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — how we know IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Checked by FaunaHub 2026-10-09 Limits Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.

References for the facts above

UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — University of Michigan Museum of ZoologySupports: Range, habitat, diet, body size and mass, lifespan, activity and social structure, as the account states them. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: A peer-edited account written largely by students under faculty review. Figures are compiled from the literature rather than from a single study, and some are regional.
ReferenceIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesSupports: The global Red List category and the year of the assessment. Retrieved 2026-10-09.Limitations: Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.

Frequently Asked Questions — Warthog

What is a warthog?

The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is named for the paired protrusions — often called "warts" — on the sides of the face, which are fleshy pads rather than growths caused by disease.

Do warthogs dig their own burrows?

Warthogs shelter in burrows but usually do not dig them. They typically use holes excavated by other animals, especially aardvarks, retreating into them to rest, raise young, and escape predators and heat. They often back in so their tusks face the entrance.

What do warthogs eat?

Warthogs are mainly grazers, feeding on grasses and also taking roots, bulbs, berries, bark, and other plant material, sometimes using their snout and tusks to dig. They are well known for kneeling on their padded wrists to feed on short grass close to the ground.

Are warthogs dangerous?

Warthogs are not predators and generally flee from threats, running with the tail held upright. If cornered, however, an adult can defend itself with its lower tusks, so wild warthogs should be observed at a respectful distance.

Sources and further reading

Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.

UniversityAnimal Diversity Web — Phacochoerus africanus (common warthog) — University of Michigan species account
ReferenceBritannica — Warthog — Editor-reviewed encyclopedia entry
Wildlife referenceIUCN Red List of Threatened Species — Authoritative source for current conservation status