Cathy Brewer, age 7, of Huntsville, Ala., for her question:

DOES A WART HOG REALLY HAVE WARTS?

The African wart hog has a long, sad face. His skin is rough and rather bumpy, and his large white tusks look like a turned up mustache. There are tufts of stiff bristles inside the little pointed ears on the top of his head. Certainly he is no beauty. What's more, those warty bumps on his face do not improve his looks.

    As a rule, there are two large lumpy warts below his eyes and another pair on his long snout. There may be more. Actually his so called warts are made of tough gristle—and nobody knows why he has them. Perhaps they are much admired by the female wart hog. In any case, she has none of her own. They only grow on the faces of older males.