Common warthogs are native to sub-Saharan Africa, so any animal recorded in New Mexico traces back to captive or ranched stock, not a self-sustaining wild population. Exotic-game ranches keep free-ranging herds in parts of the Southwest, and a stray or escaped animal can wander well beyond the fence line.
New Mexico’s mapped reports are thin and scattered across Carson National Forest, Gila National Forest, and Lincoln National Forest, three forests hundreds of miles apart rather than one cluster. Monthly counts stay in the single digits all year, which isn’t enough to show a real seasonal pattern, so the small Feb, Apr, Aug bump in the record probably says more about who was out reporting than about the warthog itself.
Full species profile
