Warthog Hunting in South Africa

• Their name comes from the ‘warts’ or protrusions on the sides of their face; these protrusions are a combination of bone and cartilage. It protects their face when they fight.

• Warthog sleeps underground at night or when cold in burrows. Warthog and other animals like the steenbok take over these burrows from other animals such as the aardvark.

• Warthogs mainly eat grass but also dig for roots and bulbs, especially when it’s dry. They will also occasionally scavenge on meat as they are omnivorous.

• They like to roll in the mud to protect their skin from the sun and parasites.

• Warthog hunting around water is always a good strategy.

• Surprisingly, they can live for up to 17 years of age.

• These game animals have a litter of two to four piglets; however, their mortality rate is relatively high due to predators.

• Two or three female Warthogs sometimes form small sounders with their young to assist with looking after each other’s young.

• Warthogs let their young go into their burrows first, then back into the burrow so that if any threat comes, they can protect them.

• They have tusks like elephants on their upper and lower jaws. Warthogs use these to fight and defend themselves against predators.

• When dry and the ground is hard, they kneel on their writs and use their snouts and tusks to lift the soil to extract roots and bulbs.

Description of Warthog

The Warthog is the only pig species adapted to grazing in savanna habitats.

Warthog has calloused pads that protect the wrists. These pads are from quite early in the fetus’s development. While feeding, they often kneel and move around on their wrists.

Although they can dig their burrows, they commonly occupy abandoned burrows of aardvarks and other animals. The Warthog reverses into burrows, ready to burst out and defend if necessary.

Warthogs love to wallow in mud to cope with high temperatures and protect themselves from biting flies and insects.

They also huddle together to share heat in low temperatures.

Information for Warthog hunting

The Warthog is a medium-sized species, and shoulder height from 20 to 30 inches. At 100 to 150 pounds, females are typically slightly smaller and lighter than males at 130 to 250 pounds. 

A warthog has two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards. The shorter lower pair gets sharpened by friction against the upper pair when the Warthog is feeding.

The upper canine teeth can grow to 10 inches long and have a broad elliptical cross-section. A tusk will curve 90° or more from the root and will not lie flat on a table, as it bends somewhat backward as it grows.

In addition to finding food, the tusks are also used for defense against predators.

Your warthog boar trophy should have an average shoulder height of around 25 inches, weigh about 180 pounds, and have a Tusk Length of approximately 10 inches.

The Safari Club International minimum score for a warthog is 29. The trophy is measured by adding the length of each tusk and the circumference of the tusks.

Only the upper tusks are considered for the trophy measurement.

Warthogs are great trophies to hunt, and a big boar is not an everyday occurrence.

Although Warthog is now one of the most widely spread animals in the Eastern Cape, high-quality boars are still difficult to find.

Sheep and cattle fences are little or no impediment to freedom of movement and is found in all provinces, including Limpopo.

The goal for hunting warthog ranges from trophy tusks and hide to delicious meat. One of the toughest African game, the adult boar, can weigh in at over 250 pounds.

They are not territorial, and he wanders all over the show. Big boars will not flee from dogs but rather turn and fight. The bottom tusks can be lethal for the dog. Hunting methods are mainly spot and stalk.

Found in small family groups called “sounders,” mother and piglets stay together for up to three years. The boar joins the group for mating.

Wallowing in the mud is his favorite pastime.

Warthogs are included in nearly all our big game hunting packages. They can be a real nuisance when hunting other species, such as eland, due to getting up in front of hunters during a stalk and spooking the intended quarry.

The 7 mm and 30 calibers will work well for hunting warthog. For those hunters who do not wish to go through the red tape of bringing a rifle into South Africa, Nick Bowker has 300 Magnums fitted with suppressors.

Mounted on the rifle is a Swarovski Z8 tactical scope. Also, we have hand-loaded Hornady ELD-X ammunition.

The rifle, including ammunition, is available as part of all African hunt packages free of charge.

The warthogs’ natural skin color is gray but can appear reddish or yellow due to their constant mud bathing activities.

The snout is broader than a domestic pig’s, and long canine teeth (tusks) curl over the snout.

Tails are always erect when on the move.

Always approach from downwind when game hunting Warthog. The Warthog has poor eyesight but a good sense of smell and hearing; thus, warthogs are often shot at close distances.

Boars are often double the size of sows in body weight, displaying two dominant warts on both sides of the head, while sows have much smaller warts.

Judging the trophy quality from a distance can be difficult as the tusks are not always easy to see.

Boars will display darkened skin below their eyes due to scent glands leaking a secretion that stains the skin, making boar identification more straightforward.

Always consider at least 2-3 inches of tusk inside the lip. Warthog occurs in all provinces of South Africa and types of terrain, including open woodlands. Join us at our hunt lodge for some warthog hunting.