Warthog Questions

[MedRiver]

I am still a few years out from heading to Africa (got some Alaska stuff to get out of my system, lol). I am not really a serious trophy hunter and just generally look for a quality experience on my hunts with the possibility of taking mature animal(s). I do have a weird spot for pigs of all kinds though and love hunting them. As backwards as it sounds I would almost prefer to purse them and take a few other animals in the process. Which leads to my questions...

Is it possible to plan a plains game safari primarily around warthogs with multiples of them being taken...or are they mostly taken as targets of opportunity while pursuing other game?

Would many operators allow multiples to be taken or are they managed heavily to maintain populations and/or trophy quality?

I see they are offered as a target species throughout a wide range..Is there a geographic area a person should focus on where they tend to be more densely populated?

Is there an area where warthogs and bushpigs overlap in good numbers and could be targeted on the same concession/reserve?

Thanks in advance

 

[Hunt anything]

The Coutadas around the Zambezi delta in Mozambique may be the best place in Africa for a daytime bushpig and they also have superb warthog. I probably averaged seeing bushpig at least every other day when I spent a good bit of time in Coutada 10. Didn’t hunt one and that was a huge regret from my time there!

 

[Siennacoyote]

I look forward to this discussion

 

[Hogpatrol]

2022, nine day management hunt in the Eastern Cape, RSA, I and my hunting buddy shot ten total.

 

[JimP]

I've seen outfitters here offering cull hunts for warthogs with quite a few in the package.

But other than that they are a cash animal.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I think you're going to find a lot of happy answers to this question.

For myself, I just got back from my second trip. I shot two warthogs that I was very happy with, and I know for a fact I could have had more had I asked - my outfitter has a crap-ton of warthogs on his properties. They also offer bush pig hunts.

I don't think there's anything wrong with making it what you want it to be.

 

[375Fox]

You can definitely target just warthogs, but you have to go to right areas. Most hunts they are targets of opportunity. It will be a private land hunt in Namibia or South Africa. The quotas are too low in other countries in concession areas. Droughts can have a big impact on the numbers especially trophy boars though. Limpopo in South Africa would be your best bet to combine the two. Hunt warthog in afternoon and bushpig in evening.

Here’s an afternoon in Namibia

Here are some offers that were posted. I think they’d both be fun opportunities if still available.

Warthog Fever Hunt With BAYLY SIPPEL SAFARIS 2022

Good day AH community, We trust you are all doing great and have enjoyed your 2021 hunting year! We still have 1 or 2 safaris coming up but are already looking forward to our 2022 season! This hunt is a great offer for those who are obsessed with hunting the strange and unique African Warthog...

www.africahunting.com

Warthog Cull Hunts (4 Available)

Hunts to be conducted on Tussen die Riviere provincial game reserve, in the Free State province, South Africa, approximately 2 hours drive from Bloemfontein airport. Hunter needs to fly in to Bloemfontein, arrive on a Sunday, and leave the next Saturday. Hunt for: 25x non-trophy warthogs, 5x...

www.africahunting.com

 

[CBH Australia]

Nothing wrong with having a soft spot for hunting pigs. Doesn't matter if it's a trophy Warthog or culling feral pigs.
Or seems there are many unique species to be found in different countries.
This might be the start of something bigger once you bag the African species.

 

[MedRiver]

Nothing wrong with having a soft spot for hunting pigs. Doesn't matter if it's a trophy Warthog or culling feral pigs.
Or seems there are many unique species to be found in different countries.
This might be the start of something bigger once you bag the African species.

Australia is on the list too for pigs and I have a much better chance of bringing my bride. I lived in Asia for a couple years where she has never been out of the US/Can….I think Africa is a little intimidating for her.

 

[Hunt anything]

Australia is on the list too for pigs and I have a much better chance of bringing my bride. I lived in Asia for a couple years where she has never been out of the US/Can….I think Africa is a little intimidating for her.

Africa was a step out for my wife as well but after she went with me in 2018 she said I could never go back without her and that was 3 trips ago, she even wants to make out my next trophy list. Only going to show her pictures of mountain nyala, bongo and lord derby eland.

 

[375Fox]

Africa was a step out for my wife as well but after she went with me in 2018 she said I could never go back without her and that was 3 trips ago, she even wants to make out my next trophy list. Only going to show her pictures of mountain nyala, bongo and lord derby eland.

Cameroon would make her change her mind real quick!

 

[Mekaniks]

I am still a few years out from heading to Africa (got some Alaska stuff to get out of my system, lol). I am not really a serious trophy hunter and just generally look for a quality experience on my hunts with the possibility of taking mature animal(s). I do have a weird spot for pigs of all kinds though and love hunting them. As backwards as it sounds I would almost prefer to purse them and take a few other animals in the process. Which leads to my questions...

Is it possible to plan a plains game safari primarily around warthogs with multiples of them being taken...or are they mostly taken as targets of opportunity while pursuing other game?

Would many operators allow multiples to be taken or are they managed heavily to maintain populations and/or trophy quality?

I see they are offered as a target species throughout a wide range..Is there a geographic area a person should focus on where they tend to be more densely populated?

Is there an area where warthogs and bushpigs overlap in good numbers and could be targeted on the same concession/reserve?

Thanks in advance

When you get ready, start an AH thread asking for hog specific hunt including the details that you would like. You will have plenty of good outfitters responding….

 

[buck wild]

I hear that the Spaniards go over to SA and wear out the pigs. I’ve heard that from enough PHs, there must be some validity.

 

[Hunt anything]

Cameroon would make her change her mind real quick!

I’ve always heard that west African forest hunts weren’t very observer friendly.

 

[Rem280]

I am still a few years out from heading to Africa (got some Alaska stuff to get out of my system, lol). I am not really a serious trophy hunter and just generally look for a quality experience on my hunts with the possibility of taking mature animal(s). I do have a weird spot for pigs of all kinds though and love hunting them. As backwards as it sounds I would almost prefer to purse them and take a few other animals in the process. Which leads to my questions...

Is it possible to plan a plains game safari primarily around warthogs with multiples of them being taken...or are they mostly taken as targets of opportunity while pursuing other game?

Would many operators allow multiples to be taken or are they managed heavily to maintain populations and/or trophy quality?

I see they are offered as a target species throughout a wide range..Is there a geographic area a person should focus on where they tend to be more densely populated?

Is there an area where warthogs and bushpigs overlap in good numbers and could be targeted on the same concession/reserve?

Thanks in advance

I think you are my new bestie. My first Sarfari is next May and all I seem to want to target are pigs. Loved hunting them here in Florida. More interesting to chase then deer.

 

[Hunter4752001]

I suspect that pigs are one of those key species the hunting of which is deeply embedded in our DNA. Domestic pigs are derived from the species Sus scrofa which originated in the Eurasia and North Africa. Pigs were first domesticated at least 12,000 years ago. It is reasonable to assume no-one would have considered domesticating them if there hadn't been a long history of using them for food. This would imply our ancestors were hunting the wild boars from the very early on in the rise of our species.

Pigs belong to the family Suidae of which there are 18 extant species (19 if you regard domestic pigs as a separate species) . Strikes me that there is is plenty of potential for a Suidae Grand Slam ie a representative trophy from all legally hunted species. I for one would love to harvest as many as possible.

From Wikipedia:

Image	Genus	Living species
	Sus – pigs	Sus ahoenobarbus – Palawan bearded pig Sus barbatus – Bornean bearded pig Sus cebifrons – Visayan warty pig Sus celebensis – Sulawesi warty pig Sus oliveri – Mindoro warty pig Sus philippensis – Philippine warty pig Sus scrofa – wild boar Sus scrofa domesticus – domestic pig (sometimes treated as a full species, S. domestica) Sus verrucosus – Javan warty pig
	Porcula	Porcula salvania – pygmy hog
	Hylochoerus	Hylochoerus meinertzhageni – giant forest hog
	Potamochoerus	Potamochoerus larvatus – bushpig Potamochoerus porcus – red river hog
	Phacochoerus – warthog	Phacochoerus africanus – common warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus – desert warthog
	Babyrousa – babirusa	Babyrousa babyrussa – Moluccan babirusa Babyrousa bolabatuensis – Bola Batu babirusa Babyrousa celebensis – North Sulawesi babirusa Babyrousa togeanensis – Togian babirusa

 

[Buck0317]

Those ugly little pigs are addictive. It seems like everytime I shoot a good warthog an hour later I see another warthog I want to shoot.

 

[318AE]

I hear that the Spaniards go over to SA and wear out the pigs. I’ve heard that from enough PHs, there must be some validity.

I’ve heard the same thing (and seen pictures), with groups of Spaniards traveling down in private aircraft and taking 30-50 warthogs in RSA/Limpopo over a few days. I think it’s simply a matter of being declarative about your desires and having the wallet. One could combine this with nocturnal bush pig hunting as well. My sense is you would be doing well to get one every second night, but others may have had better luck.

 

[R.M.C.]

I love pigs of all sorts too, they're all great. I was fortunate enough to shoot a wart hog and a bush pig on my first trip to the dark continent. I've wanted the wart hog since I was old enough to know what one was and I will definitely hunt them every time I go to Africa, but so far just I've just been once with Moretla safaris in Limpopo. Like others have suggested, I would start a thread when you're ready and you should have offers immediately. The sponsors on this forum are top notch. Good luck with your search, and make sure you write a hunt report when you get back.

 

[HookMeUpII]

A lot of people think they are gimme-animals and they are not. Depending on the time of year, it can be hard to find a good male pig. We just got back from Limpopo in RSA in May and next to a good shooter kudu, it was the hardest animal for me to tag out on. I ended up deciding to fill it with an old shooter female with big tusks which was beneficial for population control to an extent as well.

They are super weather dependent. If you go in the rainy season or there are heavy rains near the time you are hunting, they are tough to find. They sit in the thick brush in little puddles and wallow. The best success we had was water hole sits during the heat of the day. Droughts also have an effect. Their noses are second to none. It got frustrating for us on some of our sits because we'd have a big male come in, wind would change, and he would scurry out. We were burning cow crap almost every sit to mask our scent.

Some of them are killed on spot-stalk hunts but it seems like a lot of that is just chance. My PH took us to his property and we did a very long and intense walk through the cattle fields at dusk . We saw lots of females, immature males, but no big shooters. On the way out in the dark we saw an absolute mutant of a male. So big the PH and tracker thought it was a bushpig initially when the tracker confirmed it was an unbelievably large warthog. They put me in the back of the truck, we drove through the bush with lights looking, but no luck.

2 other interesting points. They are basically free-range. Fences don't apply to them, they dig under. The other is just note that importing the trophy back to the USA adds an additional inspection to the crate. We didn't know this. We are not regretful we shot them but just something to consider. Swine and primates require an extra inspection.