Ferocious Warthog Manages to Outmaneuver and Flip the Script on a Dozen Wild Dogs

Common warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) are in the pig family and live in sub-Saharan Africa. African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) can also be found in sub-Saharan Africa, although in smaller numbers than they previously enjoyed. African wild dogs are rapidly losing their habitats. Warthogs and wild dogs typically don’t get along. In fact, warthogs are routinely on the menu for the dogs. However, warthogs can be tough prey and sometimes win the day. A video out of South Luangwa National Park shows one warthog up against 12 wild dogs. What happened next might surprise you.

One Warthog Managed to Escape 12 Hungry Wild Dogs

In a YouTube video from Wild Sightings, a warthog is cornered by 12 wild dogs. The dogs snap at its heels, but the tough animal never gives up in the fight for its life. Occasionally, it turns the tide on its aggressors and chases off wild dogs that get too close.

It seems inevitable that the dogs will win in the end. After all, they have the numbers on their side. However, according to the video, “Despite its numbers disadvantage, the warthog fought off the dogs and escaped.” Unfortunately, the video ends before we can see the escape, so we just have to take the narrator’s word on it.

African Wild Dog Hunting Strategies: Wearing Down Prey

A lone African wild dog is not nearly as dangerous a threat as they are in packs. They aren’t the largest predators on the savanna, only weighing around 40 to 79 pounds. However, they routinely take down prey much larger than themselves. How do they do it? They work together as a pack to circle and wear down the prey animal until it has no energy left to fight or run.

Wild dogs are carnivores and get all of their calories from eating meat. Hunting uses up a lot of energy, and it’s vital to their survival that they are successful in their hunt and can replenish their reserves. And they usually are successful, bringing down prey around 80% of the time. This is a much higher rate than big cats such as leopards and lions. (Lions hunting in groups have only a 30% success rate.)

The Social Structure of African Wild Dogs

Wild dogs live in packs with a complex hierarchy. They are led by a dominant pair of a male and female. Within the pack, there is close cooperation to care for the members. Wild dogs cooperate in caring for their offspring and injured members. It’s their incredible teamwork that makes them such formidable hunters. They will relentlessly chase their prey and can maintain speeds of around 40 miles per hour for up to three miles.

Who Preys on Warthogs?

Aside from wild dogs, warthogs have to watch out for lions, crocodiles, cheetahs, hyenas, and leopards. Though warthogs can run up to 30 miles per hour, many of their predators are even faster.

A Warthog’s Survival Strategy: Flee When You Can!

Warthogs have razor-sharp tusks and a stocky, powerful build. They are named from the fleshy wart-like bumps on their faces, which serve an important purpose. These lumps help protect their eyes and face when they fight. Their short, sparse hair is highly sensitive and can feel vibrations, alerting them to impending danger before it comes in sight.

Warthogs are omnivores, eating a diet of plants such as berries, tree bark, roots, bulbs, grass, and insects, and will also scavenge dead animals. Their tusks may look intimidating, but warthogs would rather flee than fight. Warthogs use their tusks to upend roots, but they can be used for defense when needed.

When warthogs are in danger, they raise their tails upright to warn other warthogs of the threat. Warthogs will seek shelter in underground burrows, under rocks, or in abandoned termite mounds. They make their homes and raise their young in abandoned aardvark dens. If a warthog can reach its home or another shelter, they will back up into its den, using their tusks as protection.

How Did the Warthog in the Video Make Its Escape?

Although we didn’t get a chance to see the warthog in the video escape, the narrator tells us the animal was able to get away from the wild dogs. Perhaps this warthog was lucky enough to find a nearby burrow to shelter in with the wild dogs on its trail. The warthog also could have used its powerful tusks to injure any wild dogs that got too close.