Boar (Wild Pig)

General Info :

Wild boar also known as wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises.

Physique :

The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, 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; even whitish animals are known from central Asia. During winter the fur is much denser.

Adult boars can measure from 90 to 200 cm (35 to 79 in) in length, not counting a tail of 15 to 40 cm (5.9 to 16 in), and have a shoulder height of 55 to 110 cm (22 to 43 in).  As a whole, their average weight is 50–90 kg (110–200 pounds), though boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical ranges. Mature sows from Southeast Asia and southern India may weigh as little as 44 kg (97 lb). The Manchurian Wild Boar (S. s. ussuricus), the largest subspecies typically weighs between 70 and 180 kg (150 and 400 lb). In central Italy, their weight usually ranges from 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb) while boars shot in Tuscany have been recorded to weigh up to 150 kg (331 lb). An unusually large French specimen shot in Negremont forest in Ardenne in 1999 weighed 227 kg (550 lb). Carpathian boars have been recorded to reach weights of 200 kg (441 lb). Romanian and Russian boars can reach weights of 300 kg (661 lb), while unconfirmed giants reported in early Russian hunting journals have reportedly weighed up to 320 kg (710 lb).

Diet :

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 in Australia are also known to be predators of young deer and lambs.

Distribution :

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.