AFRICAN WILD SWINE 
N OT to mention the wild boar of Morocco and Algeria, 
which belongs to the European fauna, there are three 
distinct genera of wild swine which are typically African. 
The bush pigs, seven species of which have been included 
in the genus Potamochoerus % are perhaps the most widely 
distributed. 
The wart hogs ( Phacochaertis ), which have been divided into a southern 
and a northern race, have also a very wide range, but live in more open 
country than that frequented by the bush pigs. 
The third genus ( Hylochcerus ) includes the recently discovered forest hog 
(Hylochcerus meinertzhageni) and the nearly allied species or local races 
H. iturienshy and H. rimator , which are found in the great Ituri forest, and 
in the Ja valley in the Cameroons respectively. 
Bush pigs are met with almost everywhere in Africa, from the Gape 
Colony to Abyssinia and Nigeria, wherever thick bush exists in the 
neighbourhood of water. Living in families like all other wild swine, they 
are almost completely nocturnal in their habits, and are thus seldom 
seen or shot by sportsmen. When frequenting jungles in the vicinity of 
native settlements, they are very undesirable neighbours, as they invade 
the cultivated grounds after dark, feeding on the maize cobs, and rooting 
up great quantities of sweet potatoes and ground nuts. 
I have known instances where natives have had to abandon their settle- 
ments and move to another locality on account of the depredations of 
bush pigs. 
In the eastern province of the Cape Colony and in Zululand and Swazi- 
land, these destructive animals are systematically hunted and speared 
after having been brought to bay by trained dogs. This is said to be a 
most exciting form of sport, as when cornered an old boar is a most 
courageous animal, and will fight for his life with all the valour of his 
race. Many dogs are killed or badly injured, and not a few human hunters 
have been seriously wounded in these hand -to -tusk encounters. 
Of all African wild swine, the wart hog is undoubtedly the most familiar 
to travellers and sportsmen, as it not only frequents more open country 
than the bush pigs, but is diurnal in its habits, whilst all species of the 
latter are almost entirely nocturnal. A European or an Indian wild boar is 
often spoken of as an ugly-looking customer, but either of these animals 
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