Species profile
About the bushpig
Where the warthog is open and diurnal, the bushpig is its opposite: hairy, blunt-faced, strictly nocturnal and tied to dense cover. It is common in Tanzania's riverine thickets, forest edges and moist woodland but almost never seen in daylight.
Bushpigs root deeply for tubers and can turn over a considerable area of ground in a night. Tarangire's riverine belt, Mahale's forest edges and the Manyara groundwater forest all hold good numbers; the usual sign is freshly ploughed earth beside a path at dawn.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Nocturnal and crepuscular, lying up in thick cover by day. Roots powerfully for tubers and bulbs and will travel some distance to a fruiting tree.
Social life
Lives in sounders of roughly six to twelve led by a dominant boar and sow, which drive off outsiders and defend the piglets vigorously.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A long shaggy coat, a pale crest that is raised in display, and a facial mask of white hair that distinguishes it instantly from a warthog.
