Red river hog | Chester Zoo animals

About

These strikingly coloured, social hogs live in family groups of around six. With their red coats, thin white manes, and black legs, they are by far the most colourful members of the pig family.

Male pigs establish themselves as the group leaders through ritual fights, which involve frightening each other by whipping their tails, snorting, and testing each other’s strength. These territorial pigs mark their territories using scent glands all over their bodies and scrape the bark off trees with their sharp tusks.

They breed seasonally, and gestation lasts for about 120 days, with litters of 3 to 4 piglets born at a time. They rarely appear during the day, preferring to emerge from their burrows at night, late evening, or early morning.

Red river hog facts

SPECIES

I am a mammal

They're also known as bush pigs, or tufted pigs.

FOUND IN

Western and Central Africa

They are most commonly found in the Congo region.

HABITAT

Dense rainforests

They prefer to live near rivers, lakes, and marshes.

DIET

Omnivore

They mainly eat roots and tubers but are also known to consume dead animal and plant remains.

BEHAVIOUR

Social and feisty

Red river hogs communicate almost constantly with grunts and squeals. They are highly territorial, and males aggressively defend their harem (of up to nine females) against predators. They love wallowing in muddy ponds and streams and are excellent swimmers.

AVERAGE SIZE

1 - 1.5m long

They can weigh between 45 kg and 129 kg.

LIFE SPAN

Around 15 years

With human care, they can live for up to 20 years.

ZOO LOCATION

Tropical Realm

You can find the red river hog to the right of the entrance to the Tropical Realm.

IUCN red list statusLeast Concern