WILD BOAR
Sus scrofa

The bristly wild boar is the ancestor of all early domestic breeds of British pigs. Some Gaelic place names give clues to its previous existence here. Look for words including 'fiadh-thorc' (wild boar) and 'fiadh-mhuc' (wild sow). Wild boar survived in Scotland until the 16th century. A formidable animal, the wild boar was highly regarded as a noble quarry and was hunted intensively, but its extinction was probably due to the loss of its forest habitat. Nowadays they can be found in Central and southern Europe and Asia and have been introduced to North America. They prefer to live in deciduous and mixed woodland, farmland and open grassland with cover. They have a varied diet of nuts, roots, fruit, fungi and green plants, earthworms, insects, rodents and carrion.

Wild boar root in the earth with their long flexible snouts which gives them great value as forest inhabitants. Turning over the soil in search of earthworms, fungi, roots and other plant and animal matter, they are the ploughs of the animal world, loosening the soil and distributing tree seed. The shape of their bodies too - sturdy but narrow – makes them well designed for pushing their way like bulldozers through dense undergrowth. Strong and intelligent, wild boar are very difficult to contain!

Active mainly at night and resting in cover during the day, wild boar communicate by scent, body language and a wide variety of grunts, chirrups and squeaks. They live harmoniously in family groups, led by the female sow. Young males may form batchelor groups, while mature boars tend to be solitary and territorial. During late autumn, boars fight fiercely for breeding rights, attracting the sows with their courtship "chanting" display. The sow is smaller and more dainty than the boar, who can weigh up to 200kg and is armed with two pairs of enlarged canine teeth which form upward pointing tusks. The tusks are used mainly for display, but also as weapons for attack and defence.

During April or May, the sow may give birth to up to 12 piglets in a nest she has made in long vegetation. After the first week, the piglets leave the nest and accompany the sow on foraging and exploratory expeditions. Their striped coats act as excellent camouflage, and the sow will defend them fiercely if necessary. After 2 or 3 months they will be weaned and daughters may remain in their mother's family group. By six months old, they will have the adult grey bristly coat. Longer and thicker in winter, it is moulted each year to a shorter, fine silver grey summer coat.