Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green.
MALE AND FEMALE BABIRUSA.
The chief characteristic of this pig is the peculiar and enormous development of the tusks in the male, the upper pair of which grow through the lips and curve backwards.
In Africa, besides the European wild boar, which there extends its range to Algeria and Morocco, a little-known wild pig is the Senaar Boar, found in Senaar, Kordofan, and the Soudan region. In the late Dr. Gray's "Catalogue of Carnivora" this wild pig is described as having the fur dense and bristly, and being in colour dull olive-black, varied with yellow. Possibly this little known swine may prove to be merely a sub-species of the common wild boar of Europe and North Africa. Now that the Soudan regions have once more been opened up to Europeans, we may expect shortly to hear more of this wild swine, as well as of other rare and interesting animals.
Still dealing with the true pigs, we come now to the Bush-pigs of Africa and Madagascar. These differ somewhat from the typical wild boars of Europe and India in the structure of the teeth, the long pencilled ear-tufts, the elongated snout, and other characteristics. The tusks are considerably smaller, and seldom exceed 6 or 7 inches in length. The Red River-hog, or West African Bush-pig, is decidedly the most striking of this group. Smaller than the bush-pig of South Africa, and seldom exceeding 2 feet in height at the shoulder, the colour of this animal is a brilliant reddish brown, with tints of yellow. Noticeable streaks of white are found round the eyes and on the cheeks. The ear-tufts, forehead, and limbs are blackish; more white markings are seen at the tips of the ear-tufts, along the thick mane, and round the margins of the ears. The under-parts are whitish grey in colour. This very handsome pig runs in considerable herds, and is found chiefly in forest and jungle near the banks of the various rivers in West Africa. Its range extends from Angola to Senegambia, and eastwards into the continent as far as Monbuttu.
Photo by Miss E. J. Beck.
WART-HOG.
Shows the great size of the head in proportion to the body.
