Wild Boar
The Wild Boar is a species of wild pig which includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises.
The term "boar" is used to denote an adult male of certain species, including domestic pigs. However, for Wild Boar, it applies to the whole species.
The body of the Wild Boar is compact. The head is large and the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown but there are great regional differences in colour. During winter the fur is much more dense. Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, having marbled chocolate and cream stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months old, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown colour.
The Wild Boar is quite a variably sized mammal. Adult boars can measure from 35 to 79 inches in length, not counting a tail of 6 to 16 inches, and have a shoulder height of 22 to 43 inches. Their average weight is 110 to 200 pounds, although Wild Boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical ranges.
Adult males develop tusks, continuously growing teeth that protrude from the mouth, from their upper and lower canine teeth. These serve as weapons and tools. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. Females also have sharp canines but they are smaller and do not protrude like the males' tusks.
Adult males are usually solitary outside of the breeding season but females and their offspring (both sub-adult males and females) live in groups of typically around 20 animals although groups of over 50 have been seen. Group structure changes with the coming and going of farrowing females, the migration of maturing males (usually when they reach around 20 months) and the arrival of unrelated sexually active males.
Wild Boar are generally crepuscular or nocturnal, foraging in early morning and late afternoon or at night but resting for periods during both night and day. They are omnivorous scavengers, eating almost anything they come across, including grass, nuts, berries, carrion, nests of ground nesting birds, roots, tubers, refuse, insects and small reptiles.
Wild Boar are native across much of northern and central Europe, the Mediterranean region (including north Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia, including Japan and as far south as Indonesia. Populations have also been artificially introduced in some parts of the world, most notably the Americas and Australasia. Elsewhere, populations have also become established after escapes of Wild Boar from captivity.
Date: 13th September 2013
Location: view from road to Embalse del Jándula, Sierra de Andújar, Andalucia, Spain
The term "boar" is used to denote an adult male of certain species, including domestic pigs. However, for Wild Boar, it applies to the whole species.
The body of the Wild Boar is compact. The head is large and the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown but there are great regional differences in colour. During winter the fur is much more dense. Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, having marbled chocolate and cream stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months old, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown colour.
The Wild Boar is quite a variably sized mammal. Adult boars can measure from 35 to 79 inches in length, not counting a tail of 6 to 16 inches, and have a shoulder height of 22 to 43 inches. Their average weight is 110 to 200 pounds, although Wild Boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical ranges.
Adult males develop tusks, continuously growing teeth that protrude from the mouth, from their upper and lower canine teeth. These serve as weapons and tools. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. Females also have sharp canines but they are smaller and do not protrude like the males' tusks.
Adult males are usually solitary outside of the breeding season but females and their offspring (both sub-adult males and females) live in groups of typically around 20 animals although groups of over 50 have been seen. Group structure changes with the coming and going of farrowing females, the migration of maturing males (usually when they reach around 20 months) and the arrival of unrelated sexually active males.
Wild Boar are generally crepuscular or nocturnal, foraging in early morning and late afternoon or at night but resting for periods during both night and day. They are omnivorous scavengers, eating almost anything they come across, including grass, nuts, berries, carrion, nests of ground nesting birds, roots, tubers, refuse, insects and small reptiles.
Wild Boar are native across much of northern and central Europe, the Mediterranean region (including north Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia, including Japan and as far south as Indonesia. Populations have also been artificially introduced in some parts of the world, most notably the Americas and Australasia. Elsewhere, populations have also become established after escapes of Wild Boar from captivity.
Date: 13th September 2013
Location: view from road to Embalse del Jándula, Sierra de Andújar, Andalucia, Spain
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Also in: South Spain - September 2013
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