THE WART-HOG 123 



Gardens, and bears our winters in an outdoor sty, in spite of its lack 

 of a hairy coat. 



THE WART-HOG 



(Phacockcerus athiopicus) 



THE Wart-Hog, or Vlack-Vark, has long been known as a menagerie 

 exhibit under the unflattering title of "the ugliest animal in creation"; 

 and it must be admitted that there is considerable justification for the 

 description. About the size of a Wild Boar, the Wart-Hog is re- 

 markable for the great breadth of its head and muzzle, which are 

 further disfigured by the characteristic warts a pair of small ones 

 just below the eyes, and two much larger protuberances on the snout. 

 The body is nearly naked, except for the tuft at the tip of the tail and 

 a mane of long, laxly-drooping bristles down the neck and back. The 

 tusks are very characteristic : the upper and lower canines both follow 

 the same outward curve, and the former, unlike what obtains in the 

 Wild Boar, are much the larger and more conspicuous. They may 

 attain even to a length of a foot outside the gum in a fine Boar, and 

 even in a Sow may be four or more inches, for the female Wart-Hog, 

 unlike the female of other wild Swine, has quite large and conspicuous 

 weapons. The young are not striped like those of the more typical 

 wild Pigs ; there are only four at a litter, and the mother has but 

 four teats accordingly. The Wart-Hog has a wide range through 

 Africa south of the Sahara, and at least two local races are recognised, 

 the Wart-Hog of the north-east being considered by some a distinct 

 species from the southern type ; but the differences are hardly of 

 specific importance. 



Wart-Hogs go in small parties as a rule ; they do not care so much 

 for soft ground and forest country as most Pigs, but rather affect dry 

 country and scrub. They are not, however, averse to wallowing. Their 

 usual food consists of roots, for which they seek at night. One of 

 their most marked habits is their tendency to "go to ground," for 

 they much appreciate the shelter of the large earths constructed by the 



