African Unusual Animals: Bush Pig

Bush pigs can be incredibly dangerous, using their tusks when threatened, especially when it has young. Known to raid through farmers crops on the hunt for food, their diet primarily consists of roots, seeds, insects and carrion. Their numbers have been reported to be on the rise in places where their natural predators have been taken away through deforestation or hunting. The Bush Pig is found throughout central and eastern regions of Africa, being as far as Somalia, the DR Congo, all the way down through neighbouring regions to as far south as KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. A social animal, the Bush Pig tends to live and forage in groups called sounders. A close relative of the Red River Hog, the Bush Pig and Red River Hog have been known to interbreed. They have coarser hair, are typically larger in size and have broader hoofs which help them navigate the terrain in which they typically search for their food. Gestation time of a Bush Pig is about four months, and so it’s not uncommon for a Bush Pig to have more than one cycle of young in a year, sometimes with multiple young per litter. Bush pigs are known to be incredibly industrious and can adapt to changes in their hunting patterns easily, making them difficult to track and hunt for food or as a means to keep the population under control. The meat of the Bush Pig is leaner than that of traditional pork, but in Muslim populaces it’s considered to be pork and is forbidden to be consumed by humans. The hunting of the Bush Pig for controlling the population has in recent years become more difficult due to its ability to adapt to new and wider ranges of territory, causing damage to crops when foraging.