The Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) is the largest wild member of the pig family Suidae. It is the only member of the genus Hylochoerus. Males can reach as much as two metres in length and 110 centimetres high at the shoulder and have been known to weigh as much as 1100 pounds. Unlike most species of wild suid, the giant forest hog has extensive hairs on its body, though these tend to become less pronounced as the animal ages. It is mostly black in colour on the surface, though hairs nearest the skin of the animal are a deep orange colour. Its ears are large and pointy, and its tusks are much smaller than those of the warthog or bushpig. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Subclass Allotheria* Order Docodonta (extinct) Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Subclass Prototheria Order Monotremata Subclass Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of... Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ... Genera Babirusas, Babyrousa Giant forest hogs, Hylochoerus Warthogs, Phacochoerus Bush pigs, Potamochoerus Pigs, Sus Suidae is the biological family to which pigs and their relatives belong. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (February 21, 1858 - June 16, 1929) was a British zoologist. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Genera Babirusas, Babyrousa Giant forest hogs, Hylochoerus Warthogs, Phacochoerus Bush pigs, Potamochoerus Pigs, Sus Suidae is the biological family to which pigs and their relatives belong. ... Pacific Walrus at Cape Peirce A tusk is an extremely long tooth of certain mammals that protrudes when the mouth is closed. ... Binomial name Phacochoerus africanus (Pallas, 1766) // Warthogs are really cool man, innit. ... Binomial name Potamochoerus larvatus (Cuvier, 1822) The Bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) is a very hairy member of the pig family that lives in forest thickets, riverine vegetation and reedbeds close to water in Africa. ...

Giant forest hogs occurs in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, extending also into the mountain forests of the Rwenzori Mountains and as far east as Mount Kenya and the Ethiopian Highlands. More truly herbivourous than any other wild suid or tayassuid, the giant forest hog feed chiefly on grass and other plant material and does not dig for food with its snout like other wild pigs do. Amazon river rain forest in Brazil Tropical rainforests are rainforests generally found near the equator. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... The Ruwenzori Range (also Rwenzori Mountains) is a small but spectacular mountain range of central Africa, often referred to as Mt. ... Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, and the second-highest in Africa (after Mount Kilimanjaro). ... Ethiopian Highlands with Ras Dashan in the background. ... Species Tayassu Tayassu tajacu Tayassu pecari Catagonus Catagonus wagneri The peccaries (also known by its Spanish name, javelina or pecarí) are medium-sized mammals of the family Tayassuidae. ... Natural vegetation dominated by grasses Grass is a common word that generally describes a monocotyledonous green plant in the family Poaceae. ...

Giant forest hogs are nocturnal, being mainly active for about four to eight hours a day between dusk and dawn. They live in large herds (sounders) of up to twenty animals. However, breeding pairs leave a sounder completely and do not tolerate other individuals. This means that giant forest hogs cannot be domesticated, since this requirement for large breeding territories precludes them being kept in enclosures. They are, though, much more docile than other African suids. Dogs and sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. ...

Though known to native peoples of tropical African forests for many millennia and subject in many of these cultures to various taboos and superstitions, giant forest hogs were not scientifically classified until 1904^{[citation needed]}. This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Sources

• Hylochoerus meinertzhageni

References

• Pigs & Peccaries Specialist Group (1996). Hylochoerus meinertzhageni. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.