Some warthog crossing a river near Camp Khwai River Lodge by Orient Express in Botswana, within the Moremi Game Reserve Wild. The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grasslands, savannahs and forests in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past is commonly treated as a subspecies of P. aethiopicus, but today that scientific name is restricted to the Desert Warthog of northern Kenya, Somalia and eastern Ethiopia. The common name comes from the four large bumps like warts that are found in the head of the warthog, which serve as a reservoir of fat and are used for defense when males fight. Afrikaans speaking people call the animal "vlakvark" meaning "of the plain pork." Subspecies. Nolan Warthog - Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan. Warthog Cretzschmar Eritrea, 1828 - Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia. Warthog Central Lnnberg, 1908 - Kenya, Tanzania. Warthog South Lnnberg, 1908 - Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe Description. The Warthog is medium as wild suid species. Head and body length ranges from size 0.9 to 1.5 m in length and shoulder height is from 63.5 to 85 cm. Women, 45-75 kg, are usually a little smaller and lighter than men, 60 to 150 kg. A warthog is identifiable by the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curve upward. The lower pair, which is much shorter than the upper pair, becomes razor sharp by rubbing against the upper pair every time the mouth opens and closes. The upper canine teeth can reach 25.5 cm long and are flattened circular in cross section, almost rectangular, which is about 4.5 cm deep and 2.5 cm wide. A tusk will curve 90 degrees or more from the root, and do not lie on a table, as it curves somewhat backwards as it grows. The tusks are used for digging, for combat with other hogs, and in defense against predators - the lower set can inflict severe wounds. Warthog ivory is taken from the constantly growing canine teeth. The tusks, more often the upper set, are worked much in the way of elephant tusks with all designs with reduced size. The tusks are carved especially for the tourism industry in eastern and southern Africa. The boar's head is large with a mane that goes down the spine to the middle of the back. Sparse hair covers the body. The color is usually black or brown. The lines are long and end with a lock of hair. Common Warthogs have no subcutaneous fat and the coat is sparse, making them susceptible to extreme temperatures. Ecology. Feeding on his knees. The warthog is the only pig species that has adapted to grazing and savanna habitats. Their diet is omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs and carrion. Diet is seasonally varied, depending on the availability of different foods. During the wet season warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry season they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes and nutritious roots. Warthogs are powerful search engines, using both snout and paws. While feeding, they often bend the front feet backwards and move around the wrists. Callused pads that protect the wrists during such movement very early in fetal development. Although they can dig their own burrows, they commonly occupy abandoned burrows of other animals anteaters. The boar usually reverses into burrows, with the head towards the opening and ready to burst if necessary. Warthogs wallow in mud to deal with the high temperatures and huddle together to deal with the cold. Although capable of fighting boar first defense is to run through quick sprinting. Main predators are humans boar, lions, leopards, crocodiles and hyenas. Cheetahs are also capable of capturing boars up to their own weight and prey like Verreaux's eagle owls and martial eagles sometimes prey on piglets. However, if a female warthog has any piglets to defend them aggressively. Warthogs can inflict mortal wounds on predators such as lions formidable, with battles sometimes ending with the lions bleeding to death. Warthogs have been observed allowing bands mongooses that prepares them to remove ticks.