The warthog is so ugly – he’s beautiful!

Phacochoerus Aethiopicus is one of the most entertaining animals to watch. They are great fun to come across when out hunting. You give the signal to stop and slowly go down. Then you watch, as the warthogs come closer and closer. The head jerks up; the body stands erect, as he thinks he sees something. You can see his snout working, trying to get a scent, his body language now warning the others. He comes even closer, his head jerking up and down as he gives out a number of small grunts. All the warthogs are now very close, just some ten paces away from you, as they are work their way around you. Stopping and coming forward in small movements, they are not sure about you. They do not have your scent yet, and because you are sitting down on the ground they come even closer. Now, your companions have never been this close to wild warthogs before and there is a big difference in their behaviour because when you are all sitting down the warthogs look a whole lot bigger and his behaviour seems more threatening. You know when the warthog reaches the spot and he gets your scent. His tail will go straight up and they will be off at full speed, grunts and all. Behind you there are small signs of relief mixed with the thrill of excitement and their interpretation of this event will be told many times. All this adding to the real magic of Africa.

Water holes are a great place to watch and film their antics, especially if there are some large old stumps or a large tree close by. Warthogs need to be able to wallow in the mud and then find themselves some old stump of tree trunk to scratch against. You can almost feel the pleasure they show when doing this. When hunting on foot you come across lots of animals unexpectedly and many of them doing the unexpected. Because of their poor eyesight, it is not difficult to get close to warthogs. But never treat them with contempt, especially when you are close to females with young. And never go looking into what you think is a warthog hole, as here you can get a bad surprise. Always remember, if the warthog is at home they back down their hole, which means he or she will be facing you. He will feel both trapped and threatened. This close he will more than likely charge at you. If he gets his bottom tusks into you they are as sharp as razors and they are very apt at using them. More than one person has bled to death after such an attack. I have seen warthogs charge a number of times when they have been threatened. Never under estimate them. Considering their shape and small legs they can move very fast. I have seen a cheetah chasing a warthog across a plain at full speed, the warthog changing his course as he went, both of them going flat out at a great speed. The cheetah never caught that warthog.

The big old male warthog is normally on his own. He has learned a few tricks over the years. His movements vary from day to day. He spends less time in one spot. One day you come across him going or coming from water then the next time you see him he is miles away drinking at another hole. He has learned to keep away from disturbed areas. In such areas you will find he moves very early in the morning and the real old boys drink late in the evening, normally just as the light starts to fade. In areas where they are not disturbed they can be seen any time of the day coming or going from waterholes. When hunting warthog, only take the big old warriors. Yes it’s good when they have large tusks, but not all old boys have still got them. In hard areas they use their tusks a great deal so they get worn down but the real old warriors look the part even when he has worn or broken tusks and remember - they don’t get big if you shoot them small!

Ken Morris, Byseewah Safaris