Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

Red river hogs live in family groups called sounders. Generalists, they eat just about any food item they find on or in the ground and thrive in habitats ranging from swamps and forests to steppes and savannas.

What They Eat
Roots, bulbs, and fallen fruit are these hogs’ favorite foods. Others include eggs, insects, and small reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Where They Live
Red river hogs thrive in forests and in savannas, swamps, and steppes with plentiful shelter and water. Sometimes they live in farmed areas where they are considered pests.

What They Do
Members of the swine family, red river hogs are social animals. They live in family groups of 12 to 20 (and sometimes up to 100) individuals. Their tusks work like garden hoes to help them dig up roots, insects, and other food from beneath the ground.

How They’re Doing
Red river hogs are plentiful throughout their range, thanks in part to a reduction in population of their main predator, the leopard. When they occur near civilization they may be hunted as agricultural pests.

Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

Male red river hogs fight by butting heads and whipping each other with their tails. Their warty faces help protect them from each other.

Red river hogs fluff out their face hair when threatened. This makes them look larger and more threatening to the enemy.

The red river hog is one of at least 16 species of swine found around the world.

 

Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

Support African forests and the red river hog.

With populations of their main predator, the leopard, relatively low, red river hogs are thriving.

You can help red river hogs and other wild animals by showing your support for zoos and other organizations that work to maintain healthy wildlife populations and protect wild habitat.

Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

Range and Habitat
Red river hogs are found in western and central Africa south of the Sahara desert. Though they do like to be sheltered by grass, brush, or trees, they are not too particular about the type of habitat. As a result, they can be found everywhere from savannas, swamps, and steppes to forests and farms.

Description
The red river hog looks a bit like a familiar domestic pig, except with a bulky body, long snout and tail, and costume-like coloration. It has bright orange hair with white trim on the cheeks, white circles around its eyes, and a long-haired white stripe down its back. Its ears and tail sport tassels of hair. Both males and females have tusks, with the lower ones up to three inches long and sharp as a knife. Females are smaller than males and have less prominent tusks. Males have ridges and warts on their faces, often covered over by hair.

Habits and Adaptations
Social animals, red river hogs live in groups of usually 12 to 20 individuals. The groups called sounders are usually led by a single male. The hogs rest during the day in burrows dug in dense cover, then come out at night to root around in forest, thicket, pond, or stream for food. Sharp tusks, tough hooves, and a long nose help red river hogs root around in the soil in search of food. Exceptional hearing and eyesight help them locate worms and other meals.

Eat and Be Eaten
If it’s alive and fits in their mouth, red river hogs will probably eat it. Roots, bulbs, fruit, grass, small animals, eggs, insects, and dead things are all on the menu for this true omnivore. In turn, red river hogs provide food for leopards, lions, spotted hyenas, pythons, and people.

Life History
Like other members of the swine family, red river hogs give birth to multiple young. About four months after mating, females give birth to one to six piglets, each weighing about 1.5 pounds—as much as a big loaf of bread. The young live off their mother’s milk for 2 to 4 months, with both parents providing care. At about 6 months of age they leave the sounder. They are old enough to breed at 18 to 21 months, and can live up to 22 years in captivity.

Conservation Notes
In general red river hogs are doing well. In some local areas, however, hunting by humans may reduce their numbers.