Collis Alley, age 9, of Erie, Pa., for his question:

HOW LARGE IS A WART HOG?

You'll find the wild pig called wart hog in many zoos around the world, but you'll have to go to Africa if you want to see one in the thicket. They can be found in the dry, sandy plains and thin forest sections from Ethiopia down to southern Africa. A full grown male wart hog may be about 30 inches high at the shoulder and weigh more than 200 pounds.

A wart hog has two pairs of curved tusks that come out from its flattened head. The tusks are often two feet long. Between the tusks and the eyes are three pairs of large lumps that appear to be warts. This is how the animal received its name. Both male and female have tusks.

Wart hogs travel in small family groups. The male moves out after a time but the mother and her offspring often stay together for as long as four years.

A female wart hog may bear as many as six to eight young, although the usually number is three or four.

Wart hogs eat small mammals, birds' eggs, roots and plants.