Warthogs

I have a soft spot for warthogs. The must be one of the ugliest animals to grace the great savanna plains of Africa - probably on a par with the hyena - yet I respect the warthog for having survived in an environment where....

....this cat's favourite food is a big, fat pig.

Warthogs, like all pigs, are intelligent. For example, they hang around villages where the inhabitants are moslem, so don't eat pork, and where the warthogs are therefore safer because lions don't like humans.

That said, I still don't understand why warthogs have survived in the battle for existence. They have to feed - they are grazers - so can't hang around moslem villages all day; despite having long legs, they don't stand a chance against the acceleration of a lion; and although they have wicked teeth which act as tusks, which they can use to great effect, these aren't much protection against the teeth and claws of a lion.

Despite so much being stacked against them, they must be doing well because they are so often to be seen in the games parks of places like Tanzania, where these pictures were taken.

My only regret is that, in the three tourist-style visits we made to Tanzanian parks in the early 2000s, we never saw a family of warthogs. They are very good parents, suicidally protective; the children are very obedient; and a family on the trot, all in a line with their tails straight up in the air, is an unforgettably amusing sight.