Red River Hog

Range

Red River hogs live in rainforests, wet dense savannas, and forested valleys, and near rivers, lakes and marshes in Africa. Their distribution ranges from the Congo area and Gambia to the eastern Congo, southwards to the Kasai and the Congo River.

Facts

Foraging mostly at night, red river hogs are not particular about what they eat. They are omnivorous and will eat anything from seeds to fruit to carrion. They have also been spotted following chimpanzees in search of dropped fruit, and will consume elephant dung in order to get to undigested seeds.

Red river hogs get their name from the red coat and tendency to often wallow in rivers and streams, but they are also callled “tufted pigs” due to their long white whiskers and white hair on their ears.