An interesting note is that Potamochoerus porcus occurs on both mainland Africa as well as Madagascar. Two explanations for the radiation of this species to Madagascar from the mainland have been proposed. The first is that humans introduced the species. The second is that bush pigs first arrived on Madagascar as a result of floating on papyrus beds, which sometimes detach and float out to sea.
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Numbers of Potamochoerus porcus are on the rise due to hunting of leopards and the increase in agriculture. Due to their availability as food sources for humans, and especially in light of their negative economic impacts on humans, bush pigs are hunted in Africa.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
With the reduction in populations of leopards, the bush pig's main predator, populations of the pig have been on the rise. This is detrimental in many ways to human populations because large groups of bush pigs can wreak considerable havoc on crops. They also eat livestock and can be carriers of diseases, such as African Swine Fever, which affect domestic livestock. African Swine fever is carried by ticks, and while it does not harm Potomachoerus porcus, they can transmit the disease to domestic pigs, in which the disease is fatal.
Potamochoerus porcus is a potential food source for humans. It has been suggested that it is possible to domesticate the bush pig.
Potamochoerus porcus is omnivorous, and is quite a generalist in terms of food preference. Food items include roots, fruit, seeds, water plants, nuts, grasses, crops, fungi, insects, bird eggs, snails, reptiles, carrion, and domestic animals such as piglets, goats, and sheep. They dig in soil using their canines for roots, bulbs and insects, but can also swim and forage for water plants. Bush pigs have been known to follow chimpanzees in search of fallen fruit. They especially enjoy the seeds of the tree Balanites wilsoniana, which they find undigested in the feces of elephants.
West and Central Sub-Saharan Africa to Northern South Africa and Madagascar.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
The habitats occupied by this species vary greatly. They inhabit primary and secondary forests, thickets in savannahs, swamps, and steppes. They also congregate around human villages.
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; rainforest
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 20.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 15.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 20.0 years.
With thirteen recognized sub-species (which are subdivided into two separate species in some texts), Potamochoerus porcus varies in physical characteristics across its range, especially with regard to coloration. West-African bush pigs are predominantly reddish with a white dorsal stripe, while in the eastern and southern parts of their range, bush pigs can vary from red to shades of brown or black. In some eastern and southern regions, they become darker with age. White facial masks are present on many bush pigs. The head and body length is approximately 1-1.5 meters while the tail is between 0.3 and 0.4 meters. Adults stand about 0.5-0.9 meters tall at the shoulder. Newborns weigh less than 1 kg. Other prominent features include ventrally-pointing upper tusks (76mm) which occlude with dorsally-pointing lower tusks (165-190mm). Tusks occur on both sexes. Males are distinctive from females in that they posess warts above their eyes. Bush pigs have also been referred to as "tufted pigs" due to their long, white whiskers and ear tufts.
Range mass: 46 to 130 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Females are reproductively mature at age three. Their gestation period is approximately 120-127 days and their litter sizes range from 1-6, with average littlers containing four individuals. Young weigh between 650-900g. The breeding season lasts from September to April and is at its peak during the wet season from November to February. Sows construct grass nests (3 meters wide by 1 meter deep). Bush pigs are monogamous and both the mother and dominant boar of the small familial group supply care and protection to the young. Females give birth once annually.
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average birth mass: 775 g.
Average gestation period: 122 days.
Average number of offspring: 3.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 1096 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 1096 days.
