Mammals
Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)
The desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) is a wild pig of the Horn of Africa, living from southeastern Ethiopia through western Somalia to Kenya. Its living subspecies is called the Somali warthog; the Cape subspecies of South Africa died out in the 1800s. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
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; iNaturalist observations).
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). 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).
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).
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).
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). By type: 11 sightings by people, 11 museum specimens.
Records that name a region (17 of 22), by region: Woqooyi Galbeed 13, Sanaag 3, 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).
The newest dated record is a sighting by a person from 2026, from Woqooyi Galbeed, held by iNaturalist (GBIF record 6159384446).
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; GBIF species page).
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).
Related pages
Sources
Sources
- IUCN Red List, Phacochoerus aethiopicus, 2016 · doi.org
- iNaturalist observations · inaturalist.org
- Randi and others, Mammalian Biology, 2002 · doi.org
- Animal Diversity Web, Phacochoerus aethiopicus · animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
- Wikipedia, Desert warthog, backup · en.wikipedia.org
- GBIF occurrence search, Somalia · gbif.org
- GBIF record 665914394 · gbif.org
- GBIF record 6159384446 · inaturalist.org
- GBIF species page · gbif.org
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Related
- Plants of Somalia: how many, which are found nowhere else, and every listThe plants of Somalia: how many species, how many are endemic, the frankincense and myrrh trees, the yeheb nut and Somali cyclamen, the largest plant families, who collected the records, and links to every plant list.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on recordEvery bird species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 709 species with family, IUCN Red List category and number of records, plus the threatened species and the birds found only in Somalia.
- Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record (part 2 of 2)Part 2 of 2 of Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record, from Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat.
- Reptiles of Somalia: all 224 species on recordEvery reptile species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 224 lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises and crocodiles, with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Amphibians of Somalia: all 46 species on recordEvery frog and toad species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 46 species with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 2 of 5)Part 2 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from Sombre Nightjar.
Keep reading
- Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis)The Somali wild ass: what it is, where it lives, how many are left, its Red List status, the specimens collected in Somaliland, and the zoo breeding programme that started in Basel.
- Somali bushbaby (Galago gallarum)The Somali bushbaby or Somali lesser galago: what it looks like, its range from Odweyne to the Kenyan border, how it was classified, and its records in Somalia.
- Somali dwarf shrew (Crocidura nana)The Somali dwarf shrew: a little-known shrew of dry grassland, described from Dollo in 1890, with a Data Deficient Red List status and only 1897 records from Somalia.
- Somali golden mole (Calcochloris tytonis)The Somali golden mole, known only from bones in an owl pellet found at Jowhar in 1964: how it was discovered, how it differs from other golden moles, and its Red List status.
- Somali hedgehog (Atelerix sclateri)The Somali hedgehog, a hedgehog found only in Somalia: what it is, where it lives, its Red List status and every shared record of it in Somalia.
- Somali serotine (Neoromicia somalica)The Somali serotine, a savanna bat named after Somalia: its wide African range, its family, Red List status and its four shared records from Somalia.