Warthogs

 I was surprised to discover that, despite the fact that there are four species of wild pigs in Africa, there is only one type of warthog. Surprised because the animals we saw in Sabi Sands looked and acted somewhat differently from those we saw in Botswana. The warthogs we encountered in South Africa seemed quite a bit warier of our presence; perhaps because there were large numbers of predators in the area. The photo, above right, is one of the few I have from the first part of our trip. This boar had some pretty significant tusks and appeared monotone in his coloring.

 In contrast, the warthogs we came across in the Okavango Delta seemed curious about the hikers in their midst. At least up to a point. Then they would turn tail (literally!) and run off before circling back for another look. Our guide suggested they are not the most intelligent animals, perhaps forgetting after 50' or so just what it was they were running from.

 They were also quite attractive creatures with their long red manes and whiskers. The tails were always up in the air when they ran with the bright tufts at the end flowing like a steamer on the end of a car antenna.