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Table of Contents
A wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, or simply wild pig, is an omnivorous, sociable mammal of the Suidae family, known for its large head, tusk, unique snout with a disk-shaped nose, short neck, small eyes, prominent ears, and a coat with dense, dark bristles. Valued as food and for its bristly hair, the wild boar is considered a Least Concern species for its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to different habitats.
See the fact file below for more information on the Wild Boar or alternatively, you can download our 29-page Wild Boar worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
Terminology
- The English word βboarβ comes from the Old English bar, which is assumed to have originated from the West Germanic bairaz, of unknown origin.
- Boar is often mainly associated with males and may also be used to identify male domesticated pigs, especially breeding males that have not been castrated.
- βSowβ is the traditional term for a female wild boar, derived from Old English and Germanic; it originates from Proto-Indo-European and is correlated to the Latin sus and Greek hus, and more closely to the New High German Sau.
- Young wild boars are referred to as piglets or boarlets.
- The wild boarβs specific name scrofa is a Latin word for βsowβ.
Physical Appearance
- Like other suids, a wild boar has four toes on each foot and walks only in the middle two digits, with the other toes keeping away from the ground. Its body is compact, with a large head and somewhat short legs.
- Its body is covered with stiff bristles, usually finer than fur, with color ranging from dark gray to black or brown, although there are extreme regional variations in color; whitish individuals have been spotted in central Asia.
- During winter, its fur is much denser.
- Piglets appear to be colored differently from adults, sporting a soft brown skin with longitudinal darker stripes that fade when they are about half-grown when they adopt the adultβs grizzled gray or brown color.
- Adults reach 100 to 150 cm in length, with a shoulder height of about 90 cm and an average weight of about 60 to 70 kg, although wild boars show weight differences within their geographical distribution.
- Carpathian boars have been documented to reach 200 kg, while Romanian and Russian boars can reach 300 kg.
- Its continuously growing canine teeth, or tusks, function as weapons and burrowing tools. The bottom tusks of an adult male measure 20 cm, of which more than 10 cm stick out of the mouth. The upper tusks curve upwards in males and are regularly ground against each other to develop razor-sharp edges. On the other hand, females have smaller upper tusks, which are only slightly bent upwards in older boars.
- Like other members of the Suidae family, males have corkscrew-shaped genitalia, which goes well into a similarly-shaped groove in the female wild boarβs cervix.
Behavior
- Wild boars are social mammals that live in groups called sounders, which usually house twenty animals, but parties of over fifty individuals have also been recorded. There may be two or three sows and their offspring in an average sounder. Adult males are not members of the group outside of a breeding cycle and are usually solitary.
- Breeding occurs two or three times annually. Birth, called farrowing, happens in an isolated area away from the sounder; a litter usually consists of eight to 12 piglets.
- Wild boars are generally nocturnal, finding food from dusk until dawn; however, with resting periods during both times of the day. They feed on almost anything they come across, such as grass, nuts, berries, carrion, roots, tubers, refuse, insects, small reptiles, and young deer and lambs.
- They are the only hoofed mammals that can dig burrows, being the only known animals without brown adipose tissue, where cellular reactions convert fats into heat. Hence, they have adapted and found other ways to protect themselves from the cold. For the same reason, young wild boars sometimes shiver to give off heat themselves.
- Wild boars will defend themselves, particularly a sow with her offspring, with intense vigor. The male lowers its head, seizes, and then slashes upward with its huge canine teeth. The female charges with its head up, mouth wide open, and bites.
Range
- The wild boar was initially discovered in North Africa and much of Eurasia from the British Isles to Japan and the Sunda Islands. In the north, it lived in southern Scandinavia and southern Siberia. Within this range, it is naturally absent in extremely dry deserts and alpine zones.
- Hundreds of years ago, the wild boar was found in North Africa along the Nile valley up to Khartum and north of the Sahara.
- In recent centuries, its geographic range shifted because of hunting by humans. It most likely reached extinction in Great Britain during the 13th century. The last wild boar in Denmark was shot at the start of the 19th century, and in 1900, they were already extinct in Tunisia and Sudan and large regions of Germany, Austria, and Italy. In Russia, they were already obsolete in wide areas in the 1930s, and the northern boundary has changed far to the south, particularly in the parts to the west of the Altai Mountains.
- However, a solid and growing population has remained in France, where they are hunted for food and sport, particularly in the rural central and southern parts.
- By 1950, the wild boar had once again returned to its original northern boundary in most parts of their Asiatic range. Ten years later, they reached Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and by 1975, they were discovered in Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan. In the 1970s, they again reached Denmark and Sweden, where those held in captivity escaped and survived in the wild. In the 1990s, they moved to Tuscany in Italy.
Subspecies
- The wild boar are grouped into over 11 different subspecies, of which six are endemic to Europe.
- The domestic pig is usually seen as a further subspecies, Sus scrofa domestica; however, there are instances when it is regarded as a separate species, Sus domestica.
- Wild boar subspecies differ from one another by the relative lengths and shapes of their lacrimal bones.
Natural Predators
- Tigers, striped hyenas, and other large predators are the main predators of the wild boar.
- Wolves mainly prey on piglets, though adults have also been eaten in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, and Russia.
Wild Boar Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Wild Boar across 29 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Wild Boar which is known for its large head, tusk, unique snout with a disk-shaped nose, short neck, small eyes, prominent ears, and a coat with dense, dark bristles.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Wild Boar Facts
- Creature Feature
- Test Yourself
- Itβs a Wild Life
- Wild Pig Puzzle
- Hunting Terminology
- Warthog vs Wild Boar
- Wild Boar Wiki
- Subspecies
- Get in My Belly
- Relationship with Humans
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Link will appear as Wild Boar Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 23, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
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