THE WART-HOG. 5 II 



The first living Wart-Hog from the Cape of Good Hope came to the 

 Hague in 1775. At first it seemed quiet, but it soon showed its savage 

 temper by killing its keeper. 



^Elian's Wart-Hog, PJiacocJicerus sEliani, is more widely extended 

 than its congener, being found in the Cape de Verde Islands, New 

 Guinea, Abyssinia, and Mozambique. It is called "Haroja" by the 

 Abyssinians, " Dosar " by the Somali, and " Halaf " by the Arabs. Buffon 

 gives it the appellation of " Engallo." It is easily distinguished from the 

 foregoing by the presence of incisor teeth, and by a slight depression of 

 the bones of the forehead. Its color is an earthy-brown, thinly clothed 

 with bristles, except along the spine, where a well-developed mane, six or 

 eight inches long, appears. The tail is nearly naked, but tufted at the tip. 



Both species live chiefly on roots and bulbs, which they dig up with 

 their powerful tusks, aided by a kneeling position to facilitate the lever- 

 like action ; they vary their diet, however, with the larvae of insects, 

 worms, and lizards, and even devour any carrion that may come in their 

 way. Specimens of both species have been brought to Europe for various 

 Zoological Gardens, and no difference in their habits can be seen ; they 

 are both unsusceptible to kindness, and never display any attachment to 

 their keepers. The females are not so savage as the males, but are 

 equally devoid of all affection towards man. The flesh of the Wart-Hog 

 is, according to the accounts of Schweinfurth, less palatable than that of 

 the wild boar ; when fresh, it produces severe dysentery. The Abys- 

 sinian Christians, as well as their Mohammedan neighbors, deem it un- 

 clean, and refrain from tasting it, differing in this respect from the Kaffir 

 tribes in the south of the African Continent. 



