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A resident of West Africa is a big forest pig.
The Great Forest Pig (Latin Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) lives in Central and West Africa. However, the locals are far from delighted with such a neighborhood - males do not differ in complacency and on occasion can attack anyone who disturbs their peace. Victims are often even fierce cheetahs, and even a person has no chance against this angry beast.
The dimensions of the big forest pig are impressive: body length from 130 to 210 cm, height in the shoulders from 76 to 110 cm, weight from 130 to 275 kg. It is the largest member of the pig family. The males are much larger than the females. The whole body of the pig is covered with a long and hard black coat, which with age begins to fall out, exposing the naked dark skin. The head is large with a large snout and pronounced pelvics, which are especially noticeable in males.
Large forest pigs live in dense rainforests, where it is easy to hide their young from predators. Sometimes they can be found in wood or bush savannas. They eat plant foods. In food picky: prefer only young shoots of certain shrubs and some types of herbs. Because of this, they are very difficult to keep in captivity – caught individuals die within a few weeks. There is only one zoo in the world where a large forest pig lives – a zoo in San Diego.
In the wild, these animals prefer to keep in groups consisting of one male, several females and their offspring of different ages. The right to take the place of the leader of the pack is given to the male with great difficulty: fierce fights often arise between rivals, during which they clash with such force with their foreheads that the skull of one of the opponents can simply break through under the onslaught of the opponent.
But taking the place of the leader, the male directs all his efforts to protect his wards. He fearlessly rushes at any predator that dares to be in dangerous proximity. At the sight of a formidable enemy, spotted hyenas, leopards and other insidious inhabitants of the jungle try to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible.
The data on the activity of large forest pigs are contradictory. Some of them say that they eat during the day, and others at night. Most likely, it all depends on the weather: on hot days, pigs rest and hide in the shade, leaving shelters only at dusk.
Pregnancy in females lasts about 5 months, after which 2-4 cubs are born. Shortly before birth, the female leaves the flock and builds a den. Here she hides the babies for only a week, and then with them returns to their relatives. Piglets feed on their mother’s milk until 9 weeks of age, gradually switching to adult food. Sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 years.
The Great Forest Pig was first described in 1904. Its discoverer was the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The Latin name is given in honor of the British naturalist Richard Meinerzhagen.
Although the range of the large forest pig is broken into several parts by poachers, fortunately the population remains quite numerous. It has been given the status of a species with minimal risk. It seems that such a big and powerful beast can still stand up for itself.
Source: zoopicture.ru
The dimensions of the big forest pig are impressive: body length from 130 to 210 cm, height in the shoulders from 76 to 110 cm, weight from 130 to 275 kg. It is the largest member of the pig family. The males are much larger than the females. The whole body of the pig is covered with a long and hard black coat, which with age begins to fall out, exposing the naked dark skin. The head is large with a large snout and pronounced pelvics, which are especially noticeable in males.
Large forest pigs live in dense rainforests, where it is easy to hide their young from predators. Sometimes they can be found in wood or bush savannas. They eat plant foods. In food picky: prefer only young shoots of certain shrubs and some types of herbs. Because of this, they are very difficult to keep in captivity – caught individuals die within a few weeks. There is only one zoo in the world where a large forest pig lives – a zoo in San Diego.
In the wild, these animals prefer to keep in groups consisting of one male, several females and their offspring of different ages. The right to take the place of the leader of the pack is given to the male with great difficulty: fierce fights often arise between rivals, during which they clash with such force with their foreheads that the skull of one of the opponents can simply break through under the onslaught of the opponent.
But taking the place of the leader, the male directs all his efforts to protect his wards. He fearlessly rushes at any predator that dares to be in dangerous proximity. At the sight of a formidable enemy, spotted hyenas, leopards and other insidious inhabitants of the jungle try to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible.
The data on the activity of large forest pigs are contradictory. Some of them say that they eat during the day, and others at night. Most likely, it all depends on the weather: on hot days, pigs rest and hide in the shade, leaving shelters only at dusk.
Pregnancy in females lasts about 5 months, after which 2-4 cubs are born. Shortly before birth, the female leaves the flock and builds a den. Here she hides the babies for only a week, and then with them returns to their relatives. Piglets feed on their mother’s milk until 9 weeks of age, gradually switching to adult food. Sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 years.
The Great Forest Pig was first described in 1904. Its discoverer was the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas. The Latin name is given in honor of the British naturalist Richard Meinerzhagen.
Although the range of the large forest pig is broken into several parts by poachers, fortunately the population remains quite numerous. It has been given the status of a species with minimal risk. It seems that such a big and powerful beast can still stand up for itself.
Source: zoopicture.ru
