Elephant Puppets red river hog update
5The red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus) or bushpig (a name also used for Potamochoerus larvatus) is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests. It is rarely seen away from rainforests, and generally prefers areas near rivers or swamps.[2]
The red river hog has striking orange to reddish-brown fur, with black legs and a tufted white stripe along the spine. Adults have white markings around the eyes and on the cheeks and jaws; the rest of the muzzle and face are a contrasting black. The fur on the jaw and the flanks is longer than that on the body, with the males having especially prominent facial whiskers. Unlike other species of pig native to tropical Africa, the entire body is covered in hair, with no bare skin visible.[3]
Adults weigh 45 to 115 kg (99 to 254 lb) and stand 55 to 80 cm (22 to 31 in) tall, with a length of 100 to 145 cm (39 to 57 in).[2] The thin tail is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) long[2] and ends in a tuft of black hair. The ears are also long and thin, ending in tufts of white or black hair that may reach 12 cm (4.7 in) in length. Boars are somewhat larger than sows, and have distinct conical protuberances on either side of the snout and rather small, sharp tusks. The facial protuberances are bony and probably protect the boar's facial tendons during head-to-head combat with other males.[3]
Red river hogs have a dental formula of
3.1.3–4.3
3.1.3–4.3
, similar to that of wild boar. Both sexes have scent glands close to the eyes and on the feet; males have additional glands near the tusks on the upper jaw. There is also a distinctive glandular structure about 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter on the chin, which probably has a tactile function.
Red river hogs are often active during the day, but are primarily nocturnal or crepuscular.[5] They typically live in small groups of approximately six to ten animals, composed of a single adult male, and a number of adult females and their young.[3] However, much larger groups, some with over 30 individuals, have been noted in particularly favourable habitats.[6] The boar defends his harem aggressively against predators, with leopards being a particularly common threat.[7]
They communicate almost continuously with grunts and squeals with a repertoire that can signal alarm, distress, or passive contact.[2]
The species is omnivorous, eating mainly roots, bulbs, and tubers, and supplements its diet with fruit, seeds, nuts, water plants, grasses, herbs, fungi, eggs, dead animal and plant remains, insects, snails, lizards, other reptiles, and domestic animals such as piglets, goats, and sheep.[8] It uses its large muzzle to snuffle about in the soil in search of food, as well as scraping the ground with their tusks and fore-feet. They can cause damage to agricultural crops, such as cassava and yams.[3]