Last month in South Africa, I had a close call with a warthog — one that could’ve ended badly if I hadn’t learned their unexpected escape tactic just in time. Warthogs may look harmless, but their survival strategy is anything but. Ever wonder why they always enter their burrows backwards? Once you know, it makes perfect sense, and might just save you from a surprise charge.
The Backward Entry Mystery
Picture this: I’m crouched behind a termite mound in Kruger National Park, camera in hand, watching a family of warthogs grazing peacefully. The babies (called piglets) were adorably trotting around with their tails held high like antennas.
Then something spooked them.
In a flash, the entire family sprinted to their burrow. But what happened next completely surprised me – they all backed in, rear-end first!
Curious, I glanced at my guide, Joseph, who explained it was a smart survival tactic. By entering backwards, warthogs position their sharp tusks facing the entrance, ready to defend against any predator daring enough to follow. It’s a clever strategy that turns their burrow into a fortress.
Why Backward Is Actually Forward Thinking
After years of African safaris, I’ve learned warthogs are much smarter than they look. Here’s why they always enter burrows backward:
- Defense-ready position: By backing in, their powerful tusks face outward toward potential predators. Any lion or hyena trying to dig them out meets their most dangerous weapons first.
- Quick escape plan: Warthogs can charge out at remarkable speeds when threatened. Moving forward is much faster than turning around in a tight burrow.
- Better visibility: Their eyes remain facing the burrow entrance until the last possible moment, allowing them to monitor threats until they’re safely inside.
The Day I Learned This Lesson The Hard Way
During my second safari in Tanzania, I made the mistake of positioning myself between a warthog family and their burrow. I had no idea they’d chosen an abandoned aardvark hole behind me as their home.
When our vehicle approached, the mother (called a sow) made a threatening display, and the entire family suddenly charged directly at me. My heart nearly stopped!
“Don’t move!” our guide shouted.
The warthogs thundered past, missing me by inches, and disappeared backward into their burrow behind me. They weren’t attacking – I was simply blocking their escape route.
What I wish I knew before: Warthogs always have an escape plan, and they’ll run directly toward their burrow no matter what (or who) stands in their way.
Surprising Warthog Facts I’ve Discovered
My fascination with these unusual creatures has only grown over my dozen trips to Africa. Here are some things most people don’t know:
- Warthogs kneel on their front legs while grazing to compensate for their short necks.
- They can close their nostrils completely when digging to keep dirt out.
- Despite their fierce appearance, they’re primarily vegetarians, though they’ll occasionally eat insects and even carrion.
- They don’t dig their own burrows but modify abandoned ones from aardvarks or other burrowing animals.
- Their scientific name, Phacochoerus africanus, means “African lens-pig” – referring to the wart-like protrusions on their faces.
Best Places to Observe This Behavior
For those fascinated by warthogs and their unique behaviour, several locations offer excellent opportunities to observe their distinctive backward burrow entries.:
- Kruger National Park, South Africa: The open savanna makes it easy to spot warthog families from a distance.
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: Especially favourable during the dry season when warthogs gather around water sources and become more visible.
- Maasai Mara, Kenya: The warthogs here seem less skittish around vehicles, allowing for closer observation.
- Pongola Game Reserve in South Africa: Right from your glamping tent, warthogs come close to you when you’re sitting in your ‘hot’ tub. (it was so hot that we had a cold tub, lol)
The late afternoon is often the best time to witness their final dash to the burrows, where they consistently enter backward with remarkable precision.
Photography Tips From My Experience
If you want to capture this unique behavior, here’s what works for me:
- Position yourself at a respectful distance from known burrows.
- Use a telephoto lens.
- Be patient. Wait for the “rush hour” in late afternoon when they return home.
- Keep your camera ready on a fast shutter speed setting to catch the quick action.
- Never block their path to their burrow!
The best photo I ever took was of a mother warthog teaching her young piglets the backward entry technique. The youngsters were hilariously clumsy at first, sometimes tumbling over each other in their hurry.
The Predator-Prey Dance
What fascinates me most about the warthog’s backward entry is how it perfectly illustrates the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey in Africa.
Lions and hyenas have learned to stake out warthog burrows, knowing the inhabitants must eventually emerge. In response, warthogs developed incredible speed (they can run up to 48 km/h), and this clever backward entry strategy.
I once spent a whole morning watching this deadly game unfold. A patient lioness waited near a burrow for hours. When the warthogs finally emerged, they spotted her immediately and used their impressive speed to escape to another burrow system nearly a kilometer away!
A Lesson In Survival
Years of exploring Africa have shown that survival often depends on remarkable, specialized adaptations. What may seem like a curious quirk — the warthog’s backward burrow entry — is, in fact, a clever and effective response to the challenges these animals face. Next time you’re on safari, watch for this behavior.
If you have any questions or comments about warthogs or where to see them, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below! Safe travels and happy warthog watching!
And make sure to follow me on my socials for more updates.
Sincerely,
Lizzy
I now have a YouTube channel as well!
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Hello Africa travellers!
Who am I? Well, the least you can say is that I am quite crazy about Africa, its nature, its climate, its culture, and more.
As a young woman in my twenties, I had already traveled to several African countries by traveling along in an overlander on my own and mostly camping ( or glamping ) and just fell in love with the diversity of it all.
So much, so that at the age of 26, I went back to university to study biology, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish because of health reasons (yes, I got sick from a tropical disease, oh cynicism). But this did not stop my dream of traveling back to Africa several times, and I still do.
My dream was back then to leave Europe and go study animal behavior, especially the elephants (sure, that’s every girl’s dream haha), but I am also very much intrigued by hyenas and other “ugly African animals“.
So, I “kind of” have a little bit of a scientific approach to my articles, when I write about African birds, for example. And most of all: the passion.
But life goes on, you move from one side of the country to the other, you get sick again and top it off with lower back problems, and before you know it, you are over 50 hahaha!
Now, I still travel to Africa, but take it a bit “easier” than the good old camping days, and stay in comfortable, yet affordable accommodations, together with my husband Wouter.
These are some of the countries I have traveled to: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tunisia, and a little bit of Lesotho LOL .
While clearly not being African territory, but Spanish, I also visited Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and location-wise, I consider them “African”, because of their climate and nature, sue me :-p
The last trip I took was to South Africa in the year 2023, and it sure got the fevers for Africa back! From the Barberton mountains to the Drakensberg and the Southcoast, one month wasn’t enough at all to see the whole country, so we’ll be back! At ease and with a little bit more luxury than in my younger days haha!
I wish you happy travels!
Kind regards
Lizzy
