Red River Hog
NAME:
Red River Hog
CLASS:
Mammalia
ORDER:
Artiodactyla
GENUS:
Potamochoerus
SPECIES:
P. porcus
LENGTH:
36″ – 60″
WEIGHT:
110-250 lbs.
LIFESPAN:
20 years
DIET:
Grass, berries, roots, insects, mollusca, small vertibrates and carrion.
PREDATORS:
Humans, pythons, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas
RANGE
West and Central Sub-Saharan Africa to Northern South Africa.
HABITAT
Varies greatly. They inhabit primary and secondary forests, thickets in savannahs, swamps, and steppes. They also congregate around human villages.
CHARACTERISTICS
The red river hog has a long, white crest of hair that runs down its back. The animals’s red coat is long and bristly with black and white markings on the head.
BEHAVIOR
Very social animals. While adults of both sexes have been known to be solitary, most live in small groups of up to eleven individuals.
REPRODUCTION
Gestation period is between 120 and 130 days. Litters of three to six piglets are born.
ANIMAL FUN FACT!
That male river hogs engage in different types of dominance displays? During these fights, the warts on the pig’s snout prevent any serious damage being cause by his opponents tusks.