Research On Warthog Food & Feeding & The Reason Why Warthogs Are Decreasing in the Kruger Park

I have a theory why the “long tooth men” tend to be a nuisance. It must be because of their poor eyesight. They just want to ensure that what they see, is really what they see – like “in a mirror darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12).

That is why they like having a closer look when, for instance, it becomes necessary to fill lamps and lanterns with paraffin, and Tokkie has arranged all of them in front of her, or when the occasion arises for a haircut under a tree, with a sheet wrapped around the “customer”. At such times, one should be very, very cautious of keenly interested warthogs. But even just sitting and enjoying, had left many a Tarlehoet guest black and blue, often in uncomfortable places. They had risked allowing a warthog to come and say “hello” too closely.

Warthogs were of the first visitors who welcomed the new owners of Tarlehoet. On one of my first photos, an old fellow is peeping around the stoep wall. “I’m looking for a cold Castle,” was Herman le Roux’s laconic caption in my Sabiepark album (the first of a whole pile of them). The next day Rina snapped one in front of the new name-board which Herman and I had (temporarily) mounted. When the water of the swimming pool was first drained, and the first green sprouts of grass appeared, it turned into a real warthog party. A family of four (the “Royal family”?) made themselves at home on the erf of the Van Deventers. They were perpetually on their knees, ploughing through the young grass like lawn mowers – strictly according to hierarchy, please note. If there is one thing that really invites an unfriendly response from the father boar, it is the disrespectful spouse or snot nosed kids that do not remember their table manners. When father “eats”, only father “eats” – do you understand!

A FAMILY of warthogs arriving in single file to say “good morning” to Grandma, “Ouma Marietjie” van Wyk, on the back stoep.

The people of Sabiepark do not only give their warthogs names

In spite of regular warnings about the dangers of feeding animals, like naughty kids, they add a few “specials” to supplement the grass, roots and bulbs of a warthog’s normal diet. Porridge, bread, fruit, peels and mealies are very popular, although Tokkie is always worried that White-neck, the duiker, might take offence if the latter is fed to “strangers”. When the warthogs kneel down to pick up every pip from the dust with their thick lips, however, she regards the kneeling as a sign of submission and gratitude. Thus the warthogs earn a “star” for “good” behaviour.

Research on warthog food and feeding

Warthogs appreciate a special treat. If a shred of toasted bread is left over from the previous evening, a warthog will not easily relinquish this titbit. It will even dive over a bench to get to good food quickly. Apart from food, warthogs really enjoy a mud bath. Even the tiniest of hogs dive in as if its life depended on it. After the bath, they rub their muddy bodies on a log or large stone or ant heap until they shine. An orthodox bath is also much enjoyed. On a hot day, they plunge into Tarlehoet’s waterhole, two at a time, head over heels. Then they take their time to cool down properly

If a warthog is hungry, its patience is precarious. In 2001, and again in 2003, two boys had to be rushed to hospital when their feeding of Sabiepark warthogs took a wrong turn. In the first incident, the hungry hog ripped open the calf of the feeder in its hurry to reach the food. In the second incident a boy, Pieter, offered an apple to a warthog that came begging for food. The hog possibly regarded the apple as an entrée. He quickly devoured it and came for the second course. Pieter offered him a handful of mealie pips. Warthogs cannot resist pips. This one rushed forward and accidentally hit Pieter on the upper arm, its tusk tearing it open. Pieter was honest enough to admit to his dad that it was all his fault. He had been warned. But his fault or not, his dad had to undertake an emergency trip of more than 100 kilometres to Nelspruit to have the wound seen to. Fortunately, Pieter was a sturdy lad. A smaller child could have been hurt much more severely.

When one thinks of a warthog, one thinks of the cheeky way it trots, its tail vertical like an antenna on a police van. It’s one of the most heart warming sights of the bush: a family of warthogs trotting away in single file, their antennas stiffly erect.

Their cheekiness is not only for show. They are indeed brave little animals that will take on a superior adversary, if life and limbs are threatened. If they feel in the slightest cornered, they become demons. Man and animal must then be very careful. When a hog has wriggled its body backward into a thorn bush and starts swinging its curved tusks, it is a dangerous adversary, even for a leopard or lion.

Warthogs had become staple food for leopards

Unfortunately, over the years, warthogs at Sabiepark have become staple food for leopards. Despite an active resettlement programme, their numbers of the past ten years have declined dramatically. In 1998, 23 new warthogs were brought to Sabiepark. In March of that year David Zeller wrote: “It is wonderful to see again how warthog parents take their offspring for a trot in the park. Hopefully their population will be able to withstand the predatory presence of leopards.” A year later only seven remained. A few years later only two. The predatory presence had increased, not the resistance of the warthogs.

LOOKING FOR TITBITS. Warthogs descend on the Tarlehoet lapa, searching for leftovers from last night’s braai. One cheeky fellow even dived over the bench.

Among the warthog residents of Tarlehoet, there was at one stage a family of five, living in a storm water pipe under Wildevy Avenue. Such shelters, also ant-eater holes, are always entered backside-first. With the “sharp side” in front, they are ready to defend themselves if predators should wait outside. The leopards of Sabiepark, however, grew clever. After a few clashes, they would no longer sit and wait outside, but strategically a few yards away. When the hogs come up for air, they are pounced on from behind. Many warthogs have fallen prey to this technique. Warthog meat is super, even to humans, be it on a grid or in a “potjie”.

Other recently reported warthog fatalities in Sabiepark include the large boar that was run over. Another one landed in a poachers’ trap. A few adventurers went for a walk (trot) outside the park and failed to return. At one sad stage, to most Sabieparkers a regular warthog visit became a rarity. At Tarlehoet we only saw the same two now and again. Then they also stayed away. Their absence became a source of worry. We were eventually convinced that they had been caught. One afternoon I heard Tokkie calling excitedly: “Look who’s here!” And there we saw one of them enjoying a snooze next to the bird-bath. The next moment we saw number 2 emerging from the bush.

During a long warthog “drought” on our next vacation, I heard Tokkie calling one day: “Darling, are you here?” Somehow, I just knew she wasn’t talking to me. I was right. She was addressing a boar who was slobbering at the waterhole.

A day or so afterwards, I mentioned to Kapous Mouton that a leopard probably had enjoyed a warthog meal in Appelblaar Avenue. A field warden arrived at the home of a friend with the tusks of a victim. Kapous and I assumed it was one of the last of our little family. We cursed the leopards.

A few hours later the owner of Vreklekker arrived, out of breath. It was not “our” warthog that had been caught in Appelblaar Avenue, but probably a day visitor from the Kruger who forced his way through the fence. “Our” two had just paid him a visit. They were hale and hearty, fat and frisky.

There and then, despite the Boeing not being over yet and all that, we two oldies drank a joyful toast to the health of our warthogs. “May leopards never change their spots, but definitely their appetites!”