Common warthog
Warzenschwein
Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, formerly Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Game Reserve, is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. It consists of 960 km² (96,000 ha) of hilly topography 280 kilometres (170 mi) north of Durban in central KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. The park is the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where each of the big five game animals can be found.
Due to conservation efforts, the park in 2008 had the largest population of white rhino in the world.
Throughout the park there are many signs of Stone Age settlements. The area was originally a royal hunting ground for the Zulu kingdom, but was established as a park in 1895. The Umfolozi and Hluhluwe reserves were established primarily to protect the white rhinoceros, then on the endangered species list. The area has always been a haven for animals as tsetse flies carrying the nagana disease are common, which protected the area from hunters in the colonial era. However, as the Zululand areas was settled by European farmers the game was blamed for the prevalence of the tsetse fly and the reserves became experimental areas in the efforts to eradicate the fly. Farmers called for the slaughter of game and about 100,000 animals were killed in the reserve before the introduction of DDT spraying in 1945 solved the problem. However, white rhinoceros were not targeted and today a population of about 1000 is maintained. On April 30, 1995, the then President Nelson Mandela visited the then Hluhluwe Game Reserve to celebrate the park’s centenary. Hluhluwe–Imfolozi was originally three separate reserves that joined under its current title in 1989.
The park is located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa. The park is closest to the town of Mtubatuba , Hluhluwe village and Hlabisa village. The geography of the area differs from the north, or Hluhluwe area, to the south, or Umfolozi area. Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park is partly in a low-risk malaria area.
This Imfolozi area is situated between the two Umfolozi Rivers where they divide into the Mfolozi emnyama (‘Black Umfolozi’) to the north and the Mfolozi emhlophe (‘White Umfolozi’) to the south. This area is to the south of the park and is generally hot in summer, and mild to cool in winter, although cold spells do occur. The topography in the Umfolozi section ranges from the lowlands of the Umfolozi River beds to steep hilly country, which includes some wide and deep valleys. Habitats in this area are primarily grasslands, which extend into acacia savannah and woodlands.
The Hluhluwe region has hilly topography where altitudes range from 80 to 540 metres (260 to 1,770 ft) above sea level. The high ridges support coastal scarp forests in a well-watered region with valley bushveld at lower levels. The north of the park is more rugged and mountainous with forests and grasslands and is known as the Hluhluwe area, while the Umfolozi area is found to the south near the Black and White Umfolozi rivers where there is open savannah.
The park is home to Africa’s big five game: elephant, rhinoceros (black/hook-lipped and white/square-lipped), Cape buffalo, lion and leopard. It is home to 86 special species including: Nile crocodile, hippo, cheetah, spotted hyena, blue wildebeest, jackal, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, nyala, eland, kudu, impala, duiker, suni, reedbuck, common warthog, bushpig, mongoose, baboons, monkeys, a variety of tortoises, terrapins, snakes and lizards. It is one of the world’s top spots for viewing nyala. The park is a prime birding destination and is home to 340 bird species. The Hluhluwe River Flood Plain is one of the only areas in the whole of South Africa where yellow-throated, pink-throated and orange-throated longclaw species can be seen together. Bird life include night heron, Wahlberg’s eagle, Shelley’s francolin, black-bellied korhaan, Temminck’s courser, Klaas’s cuckoo, little bee-eater and crested barbet.
The park has a diverse floral community.
In 1981, the Natal Parks board (now Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife) attempted to reintroduce African wild dogs into the park. Twenty-three dogs were released in the reserve, most of which had been bred in zoos. However this met with limited success and by 2015, the population had fluctuated between 3 and 30 individuals.
The park is the birthplace of rhino preservation, breeding the species back from extinction. As the home of Operation Rhino in the 1950s and 60s (driven largely by the park’s warden, Ian Player), the park became world-renowned for its white rhino conservation. The Rhino Capture Unit of the park helped save the endangered White Rhino from the brink of extinction. As of 2008 there are more than 1,600 white rhino in the reserve and hundreds of the animals have been moved from here to game reserves around the world. The success of this programme has recently been compromised by the increase in rhino poaching within the park. This recent threat has not only become a great concern for the park, but for rhino conservationists countrywide.
The reserve has a 300-kilometre (190 mi) road network.
Some controversy arose in 2014 over plans to build an open-cast coal mine right on the park’s border, a plan that a growing coalition of organisations is fighting to stop.
(Wikipedia)
The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P. aethiopicus, but today that scientific name is restricted to the desert warthog of northern Kenya, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia.
The common warthog is a medium-sized species, with a head-and-body length ranging from 0.9 to 1.5 m (3.0 to 4.9 ft), and shoulder height from 63.5 to 85 cm (25.0 to 33.5 in). Females, at 45 to 75 kg (99 to 165 lb), are typically a bit smaller and lighter in weight than males, at 60 to 150 kg (130 to 330 lb). A warthog is identifiable by the two pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth and curving upwards. The lower pair, which is far shorter than the upper pair, becomes razor-sharp by rubbing against the upper pair every time the mouth is opened and closed. The upper canine teeth can grow to 25.5 cm (10.0 in) long and have a wide elliptical cross section, being about 4.5 cm (1.8 in) deep and 2.5 cm (0.98 in) wide. A tusk will curve 90° or more from the root, and will not lie flat on a table, as it curves somewhat backwards as it grows. The tusks are not used for digging, but are used for combat with other hogs, and in defense against predators – the lower set can inflict severe wounds.
Common warthog ivory is taken from the constantly growing canine teeth. The tusks, particularly the upper set, work in much the same way as elephant tusks with all designs scaled down. Tusks are carved predominantly for the tourist trade in east and southern Africa.
The head of the common warthog is large, with a mane down the spine to the middle of the back. Sparse hair covers the body. Its color is usually black or brown. Tails are long and end with a tuft of hair. Common warthogs do not have subcutaneous fat and the coat is sparse, making them susceptible to extreme environmental temperatures.
The common warthog is the only pig species that has adapted to grazing and savanna habitats. Its diet is omnivorous, composed of grasses, roots, berries and other fruits, bark, fungi, insects, eggs and carrion. The diet is seasonably variable, depending on availability of different food items. During the wet seasons, warthogs graze on short perennial grasses. During the dry seasons, they subsist on bulbs, rhizomes, and nutritious roots. Warthogs are powerful diggers, using both their snouts and feet. Whilst feeding, they often bend their front feet backwards and move around on the wrists. Calloused pads that protect the wrists during such movement form quite early in the development of the fetus. Although they can dig their own burrows, they commonly occupy abandoned burrows of aardvarks and other animals. The common warthog commonly reverses into burrows, with its head facing the opening and ready to burst out if necessary. Common warthogs will wallow in mud to cope with high temperatures and huddle together to cope with low temperatures.
Although capable of fighting (males aggressively fight each other during mating season), the common warthog’s primary defense is to flee by means of fast sprinting. When threatened, Warthogs can run speeds of up to 48 km/h (30 mph), will run with their tails sticking up and will enter their dens rear first with tusks facing out . The common warthog’s main predators are humans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, crocodiles, wild dogs and hyenas. Birds of prey such as Verreaux’s eagle owls and martial eagles sometimes prey on piglets. However, if a female common warthog has any piglets, she will defend them very aggressively. On occasion, common warthogs have been observed charging and even wounding large predators. Common warthogs have also been observed allowing banded mongooses and vervet monkeys to groom them to remove ticks.
Common warthogs are not territorial, but instead occupy a home range. Common warthogs live in groups called sounders. Females live in sounders with their young and with other females. Females tend to stay in their natal groups, while males leave, but stay within the home range. Subadult males associate in bachelor groups, but live alone when they become adults. Adult males only join sounders with estrous females. Warthogs have two facial glands: the tusk gland and the sebaceous gland. Common warthogs of both sexes begin to mark around six to seven months old. Males tend to mark more than females. They mark sleeping and feeding areas and waterholes. Common warthogs use tusk marking for courtship, for antagonistic behaviors, and to establish status.
Common warthogs are seasonal breeders. Rutting begins in the late rainy or early dry season and birthing begins near the start of the following rainy season. The mating system is described as "overlap promiscuity"; the males have ranges overlapping several female ranges, and the daily behavior of the female is unpredictable. Boars employ two mating strategies during the rut. With the "staying tactic", a boar will stay and defend certain females or a resource valuable to them. In the "roaming tactic", boars seek out estrous sows and compete for them. Boars will wait for sows to emerge outside their burrows. A dominant boar will displace any other boar that also tries to court his female. When a sow leaves her den, the boar will try to demonstrate his dominance and then follow her before copulation. For the "staying tactic", monogamy, female-defense polygyny, or resource-defense polygyny is promoted, while the "roaming tactic" promotes scramble-competition polygyny.
The typical gestation period is five to six months. When they are about to give birth, sows temporarily leave their families to farrow in a separate hole. The litter is 2–8 piglets, with 2–4 typical. The sow will stay in the hole for several weeks, nursing her piglets. Common warthog sows have been observed to nurse foster piglets if they lose their own litter. This behavior, known as allosucking, makes them cooperative breeders. Allosucking does not seem to be a case of mistaken identity or milk theft, and may be a sign of kin altruism. Piglets begin grazing at about two to three weeks and are weaned by six months. Piglets quickly attain mobility and stay close to their mothers for defense.
As of 1999, the common warthog population in southern Africa is estimated to be about 250,000. Typical densities range between one and 10 per km2 in protected areas, but local densities of 77 per km2 were found on short grass in Nakuru National Park. The species is susceptible to drought and hunting (especially with dogs), which may result in localized extinctions. The common warthog is present in numerous protected areas across its extensive range.
(Wikipedia)
Der Hluhluwe-iMfolozi-Park (früher Hluhluwe-Umfolozi-Park), 280 km nördlich von Durban gelegen, ist eines der ältesten Wildschutzgebiete Afrikas. Er umfasst 960 km² meist hügeliges Gelände und liegt im zentralen Zululand in der Provinz KwaZulu-Natal in Südafrika.
Die vielfältige Vegetation bietet Lebensraum für viele Säugetiere, Vögel, Reptilien und Amphibien. Die „Big Five“, Elefant, Nashorn, Büffel, Löwe und Leopard sind ebenso im Park vertreten wie Geparde, Wildhunde und Giraffen und Nyalas. Hluhluwe und Imfolozi wurden 1895 als getrennte Wildreservate gegründet, als die Population dieser Tiere durch übermäßige Jagd gefährdet war.
Anfang der 1960er Jahre war das Breitmaulnashorn (Ceratotherium simium) vom Aussterben bedroht, in Imfolozi existierte das weltweit letzte bekannte Vorkommen in freier Wildbahn. In der Operation Rhino, die vom KwaZulu Nature Conservation Service durchgeführt wurde, fing man Exemplare ein und schickte sie an Reservate und Zoos in der ganzen Welt, so dass sich inzwischen die weltweiten Bestände erholt haben. Heute finden ähnliche Bemühungen mit dem Spitzmaulnashorn (Diceros bicornis) statt. 1999 wurde ein Projekt zur Erhaltung der Löwenbestände gestartet, die an Inzucht litten, so dass die Bestände durch neue Tiere ergänzt wurden.
Im Laufe der Zeit wurden den Parks weitere Gebiete zugeordnet, 1964 Schutzzäune errichtet und 1989 die beiden Hauptgebiete mit dem trennenden Korridor zum heutigen Park vereint. Heute verwaltet die Naturschutzbehörde der Provinz KwaZulu-Natal, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, das Schutzgebiet, das trotz seiner Größe und bedeutenden Wildbeständen nicht den Status eines Nationalparks Südafrikas besitzt.
(Wikipedia)
Das Warzenschwein (Phacochoerus africanus) ist eine in weiten Teilen Afrikas beheimatete Säugetierart aus der Familie der Echten Schweine (Suidae). Zusammen mit dem Wüstenwarzenschwein bildet es die Gattung der Warzenschweine.
Warzenschweine ähneln auf den ersten Blick einem etwas flacheren Wildschwein mit einem etwas zu groß geratenen, bizarren Kopf. Vor allem die vier paarig angeordneten Warzen am Kopf und die halbkreisförmigen, bis zu 30 cm langen, gekrümmten Hauer (die Eckzähne des Oberkiefers) tragen zu diesem Eindruck bei. Die unteren Eckzähne sind ebenfalls verlängert; sie sind kürzer, aber schärfer. Die Warzen, die besonders bei alten Männchen sehr groß sein können, sind reine Hautgebilde ohne knöcherne oder Muskelgrundlage, die bereits beim Embryo angelegt sind. Der kurze Hals trägt eine Art Wamme.
Das gewöhnlich graue Fell der Warzenschweine ist aufgrund seiner wärmeren Heimat wesentlich weniger dick als das der mitteleuropäischen Wildschweine. Warzenschweine haben eine lange Nacken- und Rückenmähne, die sich bei Gefahr aufrichtet, und einen mit einer Quaste versehenen Schwanz, den sie bei Flucht oder Angriff aufstellen – diesem Verhalten verdanken sie auch den Spitznamen „Radio Afrika“. Diese Tiere erreichen eine Kopfrumpflänge von 90 bis 150 cm, der Schwanz wird 25 bis 50 cm lang und die Schulterhöhe beträgt 64 bis 85 cm. Das Gewicht liegt zwischen 50 und 150 kg, wobei die Männchen schwerer als die Weibchen werden.
Warzenschweine sind nahezu in ganz Afrika südlich der Sahara verbreitet. Ihr Verbreitungsgebiet reicht vom Süden Mauretaniens und Senegal bis Äthiopien und südlich bis Namibia und Südafrika. Ihr Lebensraum sind offene Gelände, vorzugsweise in Savannen und lichten Wäldern.
Warzenschweine sind im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Schweinearten tagaktiv, ruhen aber während der Mittagshitze im Gebüsch oder unter Bäumen. Des Nachts verbergen sie sich in Felslöchern, alten Termitenbauten und mit Vorliebe in den Höhlen der Erdferkel, die nachts auf Nahrungssuche gehen.
Diese Schweine leben in Gruppen von vier bis 16 Tieren, die sich meistens aus mehreren Weibchen mit deren Nachwuchs zusammensetzen. Auch junge Männchen bilden Gruppen, während ausgewachsene Eber meist einzelgängerisch leben. Mehrere Gruppen und Einzeltiere bilden eine Großgruppe. Die Reviere mehrerer Gruppen innerhalb einer Großgruppe überlappen, manchmal werden auch Erdlöcher und andere Ressourcen gemeinschaftlich genutzt.
Warzenschweine sind Allesfresser, die aber vorwiegend pflanzliche Nahrung zu sich nehmen. Bei der Aufnahme von Gräsern lassen sie sich auf die Handgelenke nieder und schieben sich in dieser Haltung vorwärts. Mit der Schnauze und den Hauern durchwühlen sie das Erdreich auf der Suche nach Wurzeln und Knollen. Beeren, Baumrinde und gelegentlich Aas ergänzen den Speiseplan.
Ausgewachsene Warzenschweine werden von Löwe, Tüpfelhyäne, Leopard und Afrikanischem Wildhund gejagt, vom Gepard hingegen eher nicht. Die Schweine können darauf mit früher Feinderkennung dank der hoch am Kopf befindlichen Position der Augen und mit Spitzengeschwindigkeiten um 50 km/h reagieren. Auch in der direkten Auseinandersetzung wissen sie sich mit den Zähnen als Waffen zu verteidigen, was im Erfolgsfall zudem eine abschreckende Wirkung nach sich zieht. In Gewässern kommt als weiterer Fressfeind noch das Nilkrokodil in Betracht.
Nach einer rund 150- bis 175-tägigen Tragzeit bringt das Weibchen ein bis acht (üblicherweise zwei oder drei) Jungtiere zur Welt. Die Geburten fallen meist in die Trockenzeit, rund vier bis fünf Monate nach Ende der Regenzeit. Mit 50 Tagen begleiten die Jungtiere ihre Mutter, mit rund fünf Monaten werden sie entwöhnt. Die Männchen verlassen ihre Mutter mit rund 15 Monaten, die Weibchen bleiben länger, oft schließen sie sich auch der Gruppe der Mutter an. Die Geschlechtsreife tritt mit rund 18 bis 21 Monaten ein. In freier Natur beträgt ihre Lebenserwartung sieben bis 11 Jahre, in menschlicher Obhut können diese Tiere an die 20 Jahre alt werden.
Einerseits gelten Warzenschweine als Schädlinge, die mancherorts gejagt werden, da sie mit ihrer Grabetätigkeit Felder und Plantagen verwüsten. Andererseits werden sie wegen ihres Fleisches gejagt. Insgesamt ist die Art noch nicht bedroht, wenn sie auch gebietsweise selten geworden ist. Lediglich eine Unterart, das Eritrea-Warzenschwein (Phacochoerus africanus aeliani), das nur in Eritrea und Dschibuti vorkommt, wird von der IUCN als stark gefährdet (endangered) gelistet.
(Wikipedia)
