Description

The hog is a cloven-hoofed mammal with four short legs, a heavy, round body, and a large head ending in a snout. Each foot has four toes, each toe ending in a hoof, but the innermost and outermost toes are rudimentary and too short to reach the ground. The long snout contains the mouth and nostrils. The mouth has 44 teeth. The lower canine teeth are extra large, forming tusks in the male. There is a muscular disk at the end of the snout, which is used for rooting up food from the ground. The thick skin is covered with bristles.

Hogs vary in color and markings according to breed. They also vary to some extent in size and body type. Average weight of a full-grown boar is 600 to 900 pounds (270 to 410 kg). A sow weighs 450 to 800 pounds (200 to 360 kg).