Judging Warthog

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01. One of my favorite road signs.

When discussing Warthog tusk measurement here I refer to tusk length for a Warthog in it's simplest form which is taking the measurement of the longest upper tusk starting from the base, which is found inside the facial bone, along the outside of the tusk to the tip only. Even though Warthogs have two sets of tusks, the upper and lower, only the larger upper tusks are measured for official measurement purposes, as the lower teeth are hard to see or evaluate in the field. This, of course, is a basic method but for a primer on How To Measure Your Trophies you can read AfricaHunting.com article by clicking here.

The name Warthog comes from the wart like protrusions found on the head of the animal, which serve the purpose of defense to protect the eyes especially when males fight.

When side by side, a mature Warthog will stand out in comparison to a sow body wise, with a larger body and head, however the size of the boar is not an indication of the size of the tusks.

While judging Warthog, body size does not play a role and is not an aspect to assess as to the maturity of a possible trophy. When they get old, their body mass declines with age and the smaller the body may become.

The most significant factor to look at to differentiate between a Warthog male and a sow is the warts on their face. Both will have the set of warts on the side of the face right below the eyes, however the male Warthog will have another set of warts above the upper tusks along the muzzle that the sow will not have.

Most often, mature Warthog males will have upper tusks that are thicker and more impressive looking compared to sows upper tusks that are thinner with a tendency to have tighter curls that come inward quickly, sometimes achieving a heart shape, rather than outward and upward like boars. Although sow tusks can on occasion be quite impressive they are rarely hunted as a trophy.

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02. Here you can clearly differentiate a mature male to the left with a mature female to the right.

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03. Here is an example of a mature sow carrying impressive tusks which could easily be mistaken for a mature boar at first glance. Notice the smaller size of the warts below the eyes, the lack of a second set of warts above the tusks and last but not least the thinner teeth that have tighter curls and come inward quickly.

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04. Here is an example of a mature sow with heart shaped tusks, a clear sign that it is a female.

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05. Mature sow carrying impressive tusks.

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06. A mature male Warthog that clearly shows the four warts which develop and grow in size with age. However the size of the warts are not a reliable indication of age as you will find some Warthogs with relatively small warts compare to others.

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07. Very nice mature male Warthog with relatively small wart like protrusion.
left tusk 10.62 inch (27 cm) - left base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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08. A young immature Warthog which clearly shows the four warts. A larger set of warts easily visible below the eyes and a second set on the side of the muzzle just above the upper tusks a clear indication of a male. The tusks will develop and grow more outward from this stage.

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09. Here is an example of a young sow carrying smaller inward tusks. Even at this stage of development you can see the difference between the male (above) and female tusks.

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10. Warthog males can also be identified by their testicles easily visible from the back.

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11. Young male Warthog on the right. On the left, an even younger Warthog showing along his muzzle blond whiskers which can be mistaken at some angles for the upper tusks.

A warthog has two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth with the lower tusks being far shorter than the upper tusks. Upper tusks are used for digging, combat with other hogs and in defense against predators. The lower set of tusks can inflict severe wounds as they are very sharp they keep a keen edge by rubbing against the upper tusks. Both pairs grow upwards with the upper tusks being by far the more spectacular in appearance.

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12. Here is a good example of a mature Warthog.

Warthogs always prefer to use one tusk over the other as a tool, which in turn usually means one tusk is more worn down, sometimes even being broken off. The more soft or sandy the earth in the area where they live, the less likely the tusks are to be broken or warn down excessively.

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13. Here is an example of a mature male Warthog with the right tusk being the preferred as is shown by the fact that it is a bit worn down.
left tusk 11.81 inch (30 cm) - left base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

When it comes to hunting Warthog, hunters have a wider range of what they consider acceptable when it comes to trophy size compared to other species, even accepting to take a good one tusker. Hunters shoot Warthogs for various reasons, sometimes just for the fun of it as they are abundant and the trophy fee and mount does not the break the bank.

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14. Here is a good old Warthog male who has partially broken off both the upper tusks. Notice the lower tusks still being intact.
left tusk 9.10 inch (23 cm) - left base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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15. Here is an exceptional trophy with one partially broken off upper tusk.
right tusk 13.78 inch (35 cm) - right base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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16. Here is another great trophy with one completely broken off upper tusk and partially broken lower tusks.
right tusk 11.41 inch (29 cm) - right base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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17. Here is an amazing mature Warthog male with sizable fully intact upper and lower tusks.
left tusk 11.81 inch (30 cm) - left base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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18. Here is an exceptional mature Warthog male with large upper and lower tusks.

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19. Here is an example of a fully grown young Warthog.

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20. Large male Warthog trophy.
left tusk 12.20 inch (31 cm) - left base 4.92 inch (12.5 cm)

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21. Exceptional one tusker.
left tusk 13.78 inch (35 cm) - left base 4.72 inch (12 cm)

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22. A good example of a younger Warthog male.

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23. Warthog tusks will look bigger and more impressive from the back and usually only one tusk can be seen at a time, so if you're looking for a boar with both upper tusks intact, you better pass or wait to see the other side.

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24. Upper and Lower Tusks
#1 indicates the gum line, where the tusk comes out of the facial bone. On a mature male Warthog, the average circumference around the gum line, also called base size, is about 4.75 inch (12.06 cm).
#2 indicates the typical length of upper tusk inside the facial bone which is about 3.5 inch (8.89 cm) on a mature male Warthog which is included in the measurement.

For Warthogs, Method 6 is used for Rowland Ward Methods Of Measurement for tusk animals. For Safari Club International Methods Of Measurement for tusk animals Method 12 is used.

In terms of trophy size when it comes to a mature Warthog, an exceptional trophy is 13 inch plus (33.02 cm). I would say that tusks above 11.5 inches (29.21 cm) make for an amazing trophy, tusks above 10 inches (25.4 cm) make for a great trophy, tusks above 8.5 inches (21.59 cm) make for a good trophy and tusks below that make for a beautiful trophy and great memories!

I included numbers for each picture if anyone wanted to comment or refer to an image...

Note that trophy size can differ from region to region and what may easily be found in one area may be unexpectedly large in another. As with most animals there is always localities where the bigger trophies tend to be found.
 
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Jerome, thanks for another really informative uberpost! I love this whole series of judging different species, keep up the good work!! Since you have not covered them yet, or maybe I missed it as I was gone for over a week and there were so many posts, but it would be great if you could do one for the Blue Wildebeest. As you know I have them on my trophy wish list for next year...:cloud9:
 
Bumping this thread to the front, can't wait to hunt warthog again in Africa.
 
enysse, you should not blame all the Spanish for the indiscriminate hunt of warthogs, I agree that some Spanish (Only Spanish?) go to Africa just to hunt warthogs (one thing that I can not understand) But if they can do that is becouse someone allows them to do it. I am Spanish and in my first safari hunted one and in my second two and for this year there is only one in my list.
 
I agree nsok, that was anger left over from a problem in RSA a few years back....my apologies.

Part of the problem is outfitters looking for a quick buck, not every one does it, but a few took advantage of the opportunity.
 
enysse there is nothing to apologize for. I think that the binomial warthog - Spanish hunters comes from the wild boar hunting in Spain which is a kind of hunting we love here.
 
There is some great wild hog hunting in Texas. They can be pretty destructive there. We have game ranches....fenced in properties in the Midwest of US that have strains of Russian boars in them. Both types of hunting are popular in the USA. I have only been interested in hunting warthogs so far. But the big Russian Boars look cool.
 
Well having just returned from SA about 4 days ago and having just shot my first warthog about 6 days ago...they where tuff to find this year! I shot the first male I saw. Only had about 8 inch tusks but i think it was a great 1st hog. plus it gives me a reason to go back!!! not that i really need another reason. We saw about 10 diffrent hogs but they where all sows with piglets. Not to mention that with all the rain the grass was about eight foot tall. All you could see was the tails going through the grass. Was a good pig in my book and he will look good on the wall!! so I say look at some pics and set your standard for what you like!
 
Jerome

Great post...
 
Two warthogs I shot last year in KZN.

You see, Enysse, this spaniard only shoots the large ones:wink2:

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Nyati, thanks for the pictures! Hopefully all the large warthogs say hidden in the grass...until next year when I show up to hunt :D.
 
tusk size vs body size

i fully agree that the tusk size on warthog has something to do with the habitat.
i've hunted many warthog with different weapons, and have found that warthogs living an 'easy' life [eg mostly on crops] in 'soft' soil where they dont have to work very 'hard' with their tusks,tend to have big bodies [100kg] with smaller tusks.:)

on the other hand,warthogs living in harsh,dry conditions where they must really work with their tusks for roots,bulbs etc, the body tend to be smaller,but the tusks bigger[genes?]
anybody with the same experience?

as for people putting warthog populations under pressure, lets also not forget the not often mentionable harsh reality of illigal wire snares that are a very big problem in certain parts .
this poor warthog broke the wire noose snare, and it locked its mouth shut for i dont know how long
it literally suck the mealie pits up with a wheezing sound
i managed to dispatched it with my spear,and i could barely get 2 fingers in its mouth;)

the survival capabilities of a warthog is incredible!

ultimate warthog hunt cold steel boarspear!.jpg
warthog grandfarher 357mag 35m.jpg
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warthog 30-06 dream!.jpg
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Very nice trophy's indeed. Concrats to all!

Happy and Safe Adventuring!
Gregf
 
Warthogs are usually on the list!

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Big teeth are the obvious trophy criteria, but I like big warts and a wild hair doo. You have all three of those and you have a trophy hog.

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Safari Lawyer, i think you found Pumba's grandpa with this pic :)

I agree with you on the full package, it just looks great if the Warts,tusks and hairdo are there...

I am a sucker for a warthog, i will pass a good opportunity on some of the large antelope for a chance at a good warthog..

Pumba you'r next :)

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Mine and Sandy's warthogs from Zim 2007'

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Mine from South Africa in the Karoo......this year in May 2014.......


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Upsss......somebody stole his tail...........:D
 

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