The Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni – the only member of its genus) is native to wooded habitats in Africa and generally is considered the largest wild member of the Suidae (pig family; a few subspecies of the wild boar can reach an even larger size). Despite its large size and relatively wide distribution, it was first described only in 1904. The specific name honours Richard Meinertzhagen, who shot the type specimen in Kenya and had it shipped to the Natural History Museum in England.
Read more about Giant Forest Hog: Characteristics, Distribution, Habits
Famous quotes containing the words giant, forest and/or hog:
“The point of the dragonflys terrible lip, the giant water bug, birdsong, or the beautiful dazzle and flash of sunlighted minnows, is not that it all fits together like clockwork--for it doesnt ... but that it all flows so freely wild, like the creek, that it all surges in such a free, finged tangle. Freedom is the worlds water and weather, the worlds nourishment freely given, its soil and sap: and the creator loves pizzazz.”
—Annie Dillard (b. 1945)
“This land is your land, this land is my land, From California to the New York Island. From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me.”
—Woody Guthrie (19121967)
“There warnt anybody at the church, except maybe a hog or two, for there warnt any lock on the door, and hogs likes a puncheon floor in summertime because its cool. If you notice, most folks dont go to church only when theyve got to; but a hog is different.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (18351910)