# Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)

> The desert warthog and its living subspecies, the Somali warthog: range, how it differs from the common warthog, family life, diet, breeding, disease research and its records in Somalia.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/nature/desert-warthog/
Last checked: 2026-11-13
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

The desert warthog (*Phacochoerus aethiopicus*) is a wild member of the pig family, Suidae, native to the Horn of Africa. Two subspecies have been named. The Cape warthog (*P. a. aethiopicus*) of South Africa died out in the 19th century. The living one, the Somali warthog (*P. a. delamerei*), is found mainly in Kenya and Somalia, in parts of Ethiopia, and possibly still in Djibouti and Eritrea ([IUCN Red List, *Phacochoerus aethiopicus*, 2016](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41767A44140316.en); [iNaturalist observations](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?order=asc&place_id=7218&subview=table&taxon_id=42123)).

## A species found again

Studies of DNA and body shape showed that the warthogs of East Africa once taken for a form of the common warthog are in fact surviving members of *P. aethiopicus*, which had been thought extinct ([Randi and others, *Mammalian Biology*, 2002](https://doi.org/10.1078/1616-5047-00013)). It differs from the common warthog in its ear tips, which curl back, its lack of incisor teeth, its larger snout, the swollen pouches under its eyes and its more hooked "warts" (same source).

## Where it lives

Its range runs from southeastern Ethiopia through western Somalia to eastern and central Kenya. It lives in open dry country: thin woodland, dry scrub and sandy plains, but not uplands. It needs regular water, so it may live near villages and where water seeps to the surface ([IUCN Red List, 2016](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41767A44140316.en)).

## How it lives

Desert warthogs live in groups called sounders, mostly females and young; males live alone or in bachelor groups. A group's home range is usually centred on a water hole, and the animals move between several burrows. They are active by day and eat mostly grass, leaves, flowers, fruit, roots and bulbs, and sometimes insects and carrion ([Animal Diversity Web, *Phacochoerus aethiopicus*](http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Phacochoerus_aethiopicus/)).

Breeding usually comes at the end of the rains, between March and May. Pregnancy lasts about 170 days, and two or three piglets are born in a burrow. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and spotted hyenas hunt them (same source).

## Disease research

In an experiment, desert warthogs infected with African swine fever showed no signs of illness but could pass it to domestic pigs for at least 33 days. The disease is spread by the tick *Ornithodoros moubata*, so killing warthogs to protect pigs does not stop it (same source). The desert warthog is also an important host of the tsetse fly ([Wikipedia, Desert warthog, backup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_warthog)).

## Records in Somali lands

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) holds 22 records of the desert warthog from Somalia, dated from 1896 to 2026 ([GBIF occurrence search, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=2441211)). By type: 11 sightings by people, 11 museum specimens.

Records that name a region (17 of 22), by region: [Woqooyi Galbeed](/en/regions/woqooyi-galbeed/) 13, [Sanaag](/en/regions/sanaag/) 3, [Togdheer](/en/regions/togdheer/) 1 (same source).

The oldest dated record is a museum specimen from 1896, from a place recorded as "Mandheera ("Mandera")", held by the Field Museum, Chicago ([GBIF record 665914394](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/665914394)).

The newest dated record is a sighting by a person from 2026, from Woqooyi Galbeed, held by iNaturalist ([GBIF record 6159384446](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/338460496)).

GBIF only holds what museums, scientists and observers have shared, so the counts show where the animal or plant has been recorded, not its full range.

## Red List status

The IUCN Red List category for the desert warthog is **Least Concern** ([IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41767A44140316.en); [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/2441211)).

## Classification

| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Artiodactyla |
| Family | Suidae |
| Genus | Phacochoerus |
| Species | *Phacochoerus aethiopicus* |

Scientific name with author: *Phacochoerus aethiopicus* (Pallas, 1766) ([GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/species/2441211)).

## Related pages

- [Mammals of Somalia](/en/nature/mammals-of-somalia/)

## Sources

- [IUCN Red List assessment](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41767A44140316.en)
- [GBIF species page](https://www.gbif.org/species/2441211)
- [GBIF occurrence records, Somalia](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?country=SO&taxon_key=2441211)
- [Randi and others, Mammalian Biology, 2002](https://doi.org/10.1078/1616-5047-00013)
- [Animal Diversity Web](http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Phacochoerus_aethiopicus/)
- [Wikipedia (backup)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_warthog)

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