Desert warthog
Phacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766)
The desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) is a species in the family Suidae, order Artiodactyla. Recorded adults weigh 71 kg to 73.3 kg and live up to 18.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the desert warthog
- Weight
- 71 kg – 73.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 18.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 167 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.37src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 19.6 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.31src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the desert warthog live?
Not recorded
What is the desert warthog?
The desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) is a mammalian, artiodactyl-ungulate species of the pig and swine family (Suidae) native to the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. Two subspecies have been named: the Cape warthog (P. a. aethiopicus), which became extinct around 1865, had once inhabited South Africa, while the extant Somali warthog (P. a. delamerei) is largely found in Kenya and Somalia, some areas of Ethiopia, and potentially still inhabits parts of Djibouti and Eritrea.
From the Wikipedia article “Desert warthog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desert_warthog&oldid=1382208445), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the desert warthog endangered?
The desert warthog is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the desert warthog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familySuidae
- genusPhacochoerus
- SpeciesPhacochoerus aethiopicus (Pallas, 1766)
Synonyms Aper aethiopicus, Phacochoerus edentates, Phacochoerus pallasii, Phascochaerus typicus, Sus angalla
Other names and names in other languages (48)
- Cape warthogEnglish
- Somali warthogEnglish
- VlakvarkAfrikaans
- Kaapse vlakvarkAfrikaans
- WoestynvlakvarkAfrikaans
- خنزير ثؤلولي الرأسArabic
- خنزير ثؤلولي صحراويArabic
- خنزير ثؤلولي صوماليArabic
- Ityopiaf faolKotava
- Bangkal gurunBalinese
- Пустинна брадавичеста свиняBulgarian
- Fakoker an dezerzhBreton
- Facoquer de SomàliaCatalan
- prase bradavičnatéCzech
- WüstenwarzenschweinGerman
- Wüsten-WarzenschweinGerman
- Φακόχοιρος της ΕρήμουGreek
- Facóquero orientalSpanish
- Facoquero del desiertoSpanish
- Facόquero del desiertoSpanish
- Kõrbe-tüügassigaEstonian
- گراز زگیلدار بیابانیPersian
- aavikkopahkasikaFinnish
- Phacochère du désertFrench
- Phacochère de SomalieFrench
- חזיר יבלות מדבריHebrew
- मरु वॉर्टहॉगHindi
- sivatagi varacskosdisznóHungarian
- Babi-gembol gurunIndonesian
- Facocero del desertoItalian
- イボイノシシJapanese
- 사막혹멧돼지Korean
- Tuksneša kārpcūkaLatvian
- ØrkenvortesvinNorwegian Bokmål
- WoestijnknobbelzwijnDutch
- WoestijnwrattenzwijnDutch
- ØrkenvortesvinetNorwegian Nynorsk
- Guziec pustynnyPolish
- Javali do desertoPortuguese
- Javali-africano-orientalPortuguese
- Пустынный бородавочникRussian
- Абиссинский бородавочникRussian
- ÖkenvårtsvinSwedish
- NgiriSwahili
- หมูป่าหน้าหูดทะเลทรายThai
- Бородавочник ефіопськийUkrainian
- Lợn bướu sa mạcVietnamese
- 荒漠疣猪Chinese
Relatives of the desert warthog
Other species in the same genus Phacochoerus.
Common warthog
Phacochoerus africanus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the desert warthog?
An adult desert warthog weighs 71 kg – 73.3 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the desert warthog endangered?
The desert warthog is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the desert warthog live?
The desert warthog has a recorded lifespan of 18.8 years.
How long is the desert warthog pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 167 days.
What kind of animal is the desert warthog?
The desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) belongs to the family Suidae in the order Artiodactyla.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/desert-warthog
“Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/desert-warthog.
@misc{desert_warthog_2026,
title = {Desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/desert-warthog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}