THE TRUE PIGS 



IO2I 



thick forest, although occasionally found in thorny bush and among reeds in the 

 river valleys. Mr. E. H. Drummond says that " the ingulabi, as it is called by the 

 natives, does an immense amount of damage to their sweet potatoes and fields, and 

 has in consequence been exterminated in many districts. ' ' Its habits appear to be 

 very similar to those of the ordinary swine. 



The red bush pig or river hog (S. porcus) is a rather smaller species than the 

 last, inhabiting West Africa, and distinguished by the long pencils of hair with 

 which the ears terminate, and also by the brilliant reddish color of the hair. As 

 in the last species, the bristles of the neck, back, chin, and throat are elongated 

 into a distinct mane, and the tail terminates in a distinct tuft. The prevailing color 

 is either a shining brownish red with a tinge of yellow, or a dark reddish yellow; 



THE RED BUSH PIG. 



the forehead, ears, and limbs are, however, blackish, while the mane on the back, 

 part of the margins' of the ears, and the tips of their pencils of hair, the eye- 

 brows, a streak under the eyes, and the margins of the cheeks, are white or 

 whitish. The under parts are whitish gray, and the snout gray. These brilliant 

 contrasts of color make the red bush pig decidedly the handsomest member of 

 the Swine family. These pigs are found in large herds, and frequent moist 

 forests and the banks of rivers, while they are occasionally seen on the mountains. 

 The first living example of this species brought to Europe was exhibited in the 

 London Zoological Gardens in 1852, since which date many specimens have been 

 imported into Europe. A third species (S. edwardsi) inhabits Madagascar. 



Numerous fossil pigs are found in the Pliocene and Pleistocene Tertiary de- 

 posits of the Old World, which may be referred to the genus Sus, and several of 



