Warthogs are robust, highly social suids with strong rooting and burrowing drives whose welfare in zoos requires appropriate substrate and social management.
Warthog welfare in zoos is often treated as straightforward given the species relative robustness and adaptability compared to more charismatic primates or big cats. However, their behavioral needs — rooting in appropriate substrate, access to shelters that function like burrows, and appropriate social group management — are real and require attention. Warthogs in enriched exhibits with digging substrate, burrow-like shelters, and appropriate social groups show natural behavioral repertoires including family social dynamics and kneeling root-feeding that are absent in barren conditions. Their relative hardiness should not translate to complacency about meeting their specific behavioral needs.