Wild boar

Classification: mammals
Size: 1.2 – 2 m, 50 – 200 kg
Lifespan: 10 – 12 years
Red List Category: LC – least concern

The wild boar is a massive mammal with bristly, thick fur and a thin tail. It has an elongated head with a mobile snout for digging up food. Its typical extended canines are called tusks. Its eyesight is poor, but its hearing and sense of smell are very well developed.

It inhabits various biotopes, but its most commonly found in deciduous and mixed forests. It rests in thickets during the day, leaving its hiding places at dusk. On hot days especially, the wild boar seeks swamps to wallow in the mud. This cools them down and, at the same time, protects them from intrusive insects. After a mud bath, they often rub themselves against the surrounding trees. It is an omnivorous animal, feeding on roots, forest fruits, cultivated crops, insects and their larvae, mollusks, earthworms, and small vertebrates, it is also not averse to eating carcasses. We are mostly aware of its presence and activity by dug-up areas in meadows and fields.

For most of the year, it stays in herds consisting of several sows with cubs. The herd is led and protected by the oldest and most experienced sow. Old male boars live alone and join the herd only at mating time. Rutting takes place from the end of October to January or March. The female gives birth to 4-12 light-striped piglets.

It is a commonly hunted animal, referred to as “black ones” among hunters. A male wild boar is called a boar, a female – a sow, and a young boar, up to the age of 2 is called a piglet.

Their main predator is the Eurasian lynx and the gray wolf. In recent years, this animal has suffered from African swine fever. For that reason, their numbers are increasingly regulated by shooting.

Do you know?
Wild boar can reach a speed of up to 40 km per hour and swim over several kilometers at a time.