Meet Tikiti – The Utah Hogle Zoo’s new female warthog

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — There’s a new face to meet at Utah’s Hogle Zoo. — Tikiti. She is a 1-year-old female warthog, and you can find her at the zoo’s African Savanna .

In a press release, the zoo said that her name means “watermelon” in Swahili, and she is joining the zoo as a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquarium Species Survival Plan with resident male warthog, 6-year-old Swifty.

Tikiti comes from the Dallas Zoo and has started training sessions with her new care team, which includes beginning introductions with Swifty. The zoo explained that in this process, both warthogs are in the same area, but separated by barriers as they begin to familiarize themselves with each other’s scents.

In a press release from the zoo, they said that Tikiti has only shared a habitat with other warthogs and is learning to live in a habitat with multiple species, meeting Hogle Zoo’s giraffes, zebras, guineafowl, and ostrich.

The animal care team at the Dallas Zoo prepared her for this transition before she moved to Utah by having her spend time at their Giants of the Savanna habitat to get acquainted with a larger space.

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