Well, ask the Anderson male leopard. He was found recently with some pretty serious gashes to his face and neck.
Ok to be fair we can’t say conclusively that these were inflicted by a warthog since no one actually witnessed the event, but given that the leopard was found with a large warthog kill and these are just the kind of injuries that warthogs have been known to inflict on leopards before, it wouldn’t be stretching it to say that he received them while trying to bring the pig down:
Unofficially the biggest leopard in the Sabi Sands, the Anderson male is an absolutely enormous individual in north western Londolozi.
Although the Anderson male ultimately made a meal out of that particular warthog, the conflict certainly doesn’t always go the way of the big cats. We have regularly found leopards that have been gashed quite badly, and indeed it’s usually only the bigger male leopards that will attempt to tackle an adult warthog boar. Lions sometimes give them the go-by as well, as one slash from razor-sharp tusks can be almost fatal.
A serious set of tusks makes one realise why predators will think twice about taking on a large male warthog such as this one. The lower tusks – clearly visible here – when combined with a very dense lower jawbone, can pack a real punch, and are actually the seriously dangerous tusks.
Far more often it is younger warthogs and sows that are the targets of predator attacks. The piglets in particular are incredibly vulnerable during the first few months of their lives, and are taken by a variety of predators – eagles and pythons especially – although their mother will defend them ferociously if she is able to.
At the end of last year I sat with the Nhlanguleni female leopard as she watched from a termite mound as a warthog sow took her tiny piglets on their first foray out of their den:
As one can see in the photo, the piglets stayed as close to their mother as they possibly could, relying completely on her sharp tusks to keep them safe. The Nhlanguleni female must have decided that the risk of those tusks for the tiny mouthful that one piglet would have provided simply wasn’t worth it, so let the sounder retreat to their burrow unmolested.
Other warthogs aren’t so lucky though, as the following series of photos will demonstrate:
The Mashaba female lies next to a warthog kill she had hoisted into a marula. This lack of tusks on her victim further confirms that the younger more vulnerable pigs are usually the target.
The Makhotini male drags his victim towards a tree to hoist it in. Not only do younger warthogs make safer targets, but their lack of experience may well mean they’re slower off the mark when danger looms, so are easier to catch.
One of the more incredible scenes of recent years, brilliantly captured by Ranger Simon Smit; the Tu-Tones male (left) and Marthly male bring down an adult warthog together. The Marthly male ended up appropriating the kill for himself. A female leopard would be less likely to take on a warthog of this size unless she was very hungry.
Funny looking creatures, warthogs are usually viewed with a certain amount of mirth by visitors to the bush, but their comical appearance ultimately belies the danger they pose. Big boars can top the scales at close to 100kg, and can run really fast when they need to. Forget their tusks for a moment; just a boar coming barrelling into you at Mach 2 is likely to hurt, so predators try to catch them from behind as much as possible, avoiding the sharp end.
Leopards will wait on top of termite mounds above warthog burrows, knowing the occupant(s) have to emerge eventually. When they do, a lightning dash and a swift grip to the throat usually ends it.
In this photo the Tugwaan male had just been hit hard by this large warthog sow, as she attempted to knock him off one of her piglets. She succeeded, but lost her life in the process. The leopard was only able to subdue her slowly as in the initial impact he had only been able to latch onto the back of her neck, not her throat.
The brother of the Tu-Tones male from the same litter, the Makhotini male has had a far more successful life.
More often than not warthogs figure that discretion is the better part of valour, and flee from danger, but woe betide the predator that comes up against a cornered one, or is slightly poor in the execution of its takedown… the wrong warthog can inflict some serious, serious damage!
And warthog piglets are among the most delightful creatures on any game drive…
Great piece
Incredibly close warthog sightings at breakfast at the Victoria Falls Hotel on our first visit to Africa.
Yeah, the warthogs practically hang out in the lobby of the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge (apparently they aren’t aware that they are on the menu of the hote’s restaurant : )
We saw a male leopard kill a warthog in Kruger a few years ago. It got hold of the stomach and rib cage and probably bit through it into the organs. The leopard knew that it was dangerous to go close to the head becausebof the tusks. It might have had a bad encounter before.
The life of a male leopard can be brutal, given the injuries the Anderson male has incurred in just the recent past! What a tough guy!
Hi James. I didn’t realize that the LOWER set of tusks were the really dangerous ones. Hadn’t thought about it. However you are quite right. They look lethal! Wendy M
P.S. Further to the response below – I feel I just have to add that we were on private game reserve at one time and we had a bunch of tourists who insisted on calling the Warthogs “Bonzai Buffaloes”. The rangers spent ages trying to explain there were no such animals as “Bonzai Buffaloes” and tried to point out the difference while looking at real buffaloes, but, sadly, had no joy. Eventually the rangers gave up and told this particular set of tourists “Over there are some more “Bonzai Buffaloes” for you.” The tourists were absolutely delighted and took a great number of pics ….. Has something like this ever happened to you chaps? Wendy M
Haha Wendy we may have had stuff like this happen.
Our biggest difficulty is getting people to not call African buffaloes, “Water Buffalo”. Water buffalo are only found in Asia.
Nothing quite as extravagant as Bonzai buffaloes for warthogs, thankfully.
I think James is just being polite Wendy. I would imagine an African safari guide has just about heard it all after a couple years ferrying tourists around game reserves. There’s a hilarious book written by a safari guide called “Whatever You Do, Don’t Run” on this very topic.
I’ve witnessed a few warthog kills by lions, and I can well believe that a leopard would have to be very intrepid to tackle a boar! Those tusks are there for a reason! The photo of the sounder is amazing—I’ve only once seen such little ones, in Chobe.
Extremely interesting, James with extraordinary images. I was unaware that the warthog had two rows of tusks. That they are razor sharp is confirmed by the excellent video. What a gaping flesh wound! Hope it heals with no infection! In this case the meal wasn’t worth the injury.
The shot of the Tu-Tones male and Marthly male both trying to take the warthog is pretty unusual isn’t it … that is, two males working together? I guess two female leopards working together, unless it’s mother and daughter, would be equally unusual, right? I guess I mean, isn’t it unusual for any two leopards to work together that aren’t related, not like lions or wild dogs or even cheetah.
Yes, it’s a sensational photo!
The Tu-Tones male had grabbed the warthog and the Marthly male heard its squeals and came to investigate.
His priority was securing the meal rather than attacking his adversary. Although it appears as though they were working together, I think the reality is that they were each simply trying to serve their own ends and it ended up looking like cooperation. It may have even helped, but I doubt that was the leopards’ intentions.
James, my son-in-law favorite animal is a warthog😋
I hope his injuries heal quickly and don’t become infected. Yikes!
This was really informative James as I hadn’t realized the boars had those two sets of tusks. It’s understandable if leopards and lions are hesitant to tackle such a formidable beast, considering the risk of deadly injuries – not worth the meal! I love watching the little piglets, tails in air cruising alongside their mother. While in the Moremi, there seemed to be a resident sow with 4 piglets zipping through the camp site. Better entertainment than HBO!!
I’m still shcoked that that one warthog kill created an interaction between 3 male leopards, which is practically unheard of (except maybe in Jawai)!!!!
James, Great story and boy did the Anderson male take a big hit. I think we have seen leopards with puncture wounds. So great to remeber the Tu-Tones and Marthly males working together. I’m sure that is pretty rare, but probably necessary with such a larger warthog!