Red River Hogs

Native to the forests and savannas of West and Central Africa, Red River Hogs are known for their striking appearance and unique behaviors. These hogs have distinctive reddish-brown fur with black-and-white markings, including a white stripe along their back and tufted ears. They have elongated snouts equipped with strong tusks, which they use for digging up roots, tubers, and other vegetation. Red River Hogs are social animals, typically living in small groups called sounders, consisting of females and their offspring.

Their coloration can vary greatly because there are 13 subspecies and coloration depends on the region they are from. Here at the Little Rock Zoo they are red with white stripes. Red river hogs can get up to 3-5 feet in length. Both sexes have tusks, however males have warts above their eyes and females do not.

Habitat/Range:

They live in western and central Sub-Saharan Africa, Northern South Africa, and Madagascar. Red river hogs like primary and secondary forests, thickets in savannas, swamps, and steppes. They have also been known to gather around villages.

Behavior:

Social animals, red river hogs live in groups of up to eleven individuals, and even groups as large as 100 have been recorded! Small family groups include 3-6 hogs are the norm and are usually led by a dominant male. They will mark their territory by scraping tree trunks with their canines or tusks or using their feet and neck glands, or preorbital glands. They are most active at night and tend to spend their days in burrows among vegetation.