By Lori DeCarlo, University of Vermont
What animal has tusks and looks like a pig? The warthog! The warthog has become my favorite animal so far while being here in Botswana, I was even a warthog for Halloween. The warthog is part of the Swine family and they are usually found in savannah regions. As an RRCS student, we record daily behavior patterns noted in the wild for animal, plant, and bird species – and the warthog is the animal I chose for my species account observations. When warhogs run from something that they do not perceive as a threat to them, they usually trot away with their tails up. The tail up is an action that just happens, it is due to a muscle in the back that flexes when the warthog runs. They are very fast creatures which makes it hard to see them when on transects because whenever the car pulls up to take data on them, they run as fast as they can.
On transects I have seen them in groups of two or three, but on one of the transects in NG34, we saw eight! When we go on drives to collect data, I have only seen them grazing, but one time in NG19, I saw them wallowing in mud because it was hot. The wallowing behavior cools the pigs down and gets off all the bugs that are living on their backs. The warthogs that I have seen on transect are usually found in open pans and grasslands, as generally warthogs do not like to be in dense vegetation because it is hard to see where predators are lurking. Another interesting behavior I’ve observed is called “rooting”, where a warthog breaks up the hard ground with their snout to dig up and eat grasses, tubers, and bulbs.
Right now RRCS is in NG34, which is in Sankuyo, and we sometimes have warthogs visit our campsite since there is a large open area behind the camp. I have seen the warthogs at camp get very curious and come close to the camps and then run off, but it is really cool how they will come close to camp because when viewed from a vehicle during transects, they normally run away before we can get a good look. Being here in Botswana I have seen seven sightings of warhogs so far, and two groups of warthogs went to the same area the two times I observed them while on transect, which means they probably live near there. The warthog must have in their home area: a resting area, a drinking area, a wallowing area, and a rubbing area (which they use after they wallow). Even though it is hard to study them because they run away most of the time, I love seeing these little guys!