Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
bush pig
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
bushpig red river hog
Quizzes
Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters
Animal Group Names
Lion (panthera leo)
Deadliest Animals Quiz
Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)
Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz
Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)
Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz
The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024
Animal Factoids
Quick Facts
Also spelled:
bushpig
Related Topics:
red river hog
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
bushpig
bushpig Bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus).

bush pig

mammal
Also known as: Potamochoerus porcus, bushpig
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History
red river hog
red river hogRed river hog (Potamochoerus porcus porcus).

bush pig, (Potamochoerus porcus), African member of the family Suidae (order Artiodactyla), resembling a hog but with long body hair and tassels of hair on its ears. The bush pig lives in groups, or sounders, of about 4 to 20 animals in forests and scrub regions south of the Sahara. It is omnivorous and roots for food with its snout. The adult bush pig stands 64–76 cm (25–30 inches) tall at the shoulder. Its coat colour ranges from reddish brown to blackish, with black-and-white face markings and a white crest on the back. There are several subspecies of bush pig, among them the reddish brown animal called the red river hog (Potamochoerus porcus porcus).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Lewis.