Check out this little man having a mud bath.
He is a Warthog and as you may know from the classic Disney character Pumba from the Lion King these guys love mud, like any pig really. Not only does it cool them off in the summer heat and helps them regulate their body temperature but afterwards you will often see a warthog vigorously rub themselves on tree trunks or rocks to rid themselves of parasites that have been caked in the mud, which makes warthogs fervent adepts of exfoliation.
This particular warthog is a male southern warthog (Phacochoerus africanus sundevallii), you can tell he is a young fellow by the size of his tusks.
Warthogs owe their name to a set of warts under their eyes which serve as fat reserves and also as defenses for the male warthogs when they fight over a lady… pig.
This particular fellow is a male and this is visible because males have a distinctive extra set of warts further down on their snout closer to their tusks.
Males usually grow larger then the females and their tusks tend to grow larger too, even if some female warthogs will display an impressive set of ivory,
The tusks are actually 2 sets of canines which grow outward similar to an elephant, the lower canines are constantly grinding along the upper set of tusks and become razor sharp and are a very dangerous weapon and many a predator has had a close shave.
Warthogs are not aggressive animals though, Vuyani Safari Lodge has actually got its own little permanent resident warthog named George who will happily and peacefully graze no less then a foot away from the deck.
Some funny facts about these guys. You will often see them go on their front knees to graze when the grass is low. And, the little piglets look like tiny remote controlled cars when they run behind their mum with their tails raised high.
The Rangers at the Vuyani Safari Lodge will be able to tell you a lot more fun facts about these guys as we have quite a few about and you are sure to run into one for certain, just don’t run over them, we like our warthogs :).
