The wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) is an artiodactyl mammal belonging to the Suidae family.
Adult specimens measure up to 180 cm in length, with a height at the withers that can reach one metre and a weight of around 100 kg, although this can vary greatly depending on the area of distribution. In the Italian Alps, adults weigh between 100 and 200 kg, while in central and southern Italy and Sardinia, the average weight is around 80–90 kg.
It has a massive build, with a square body and rather short, thin legs. Each foot has four hooves, the two front ones being larger and more robust and resting directly on the ground, while the two side ones are shorter and only rest on the ground when the animal walks on soft or muddy ground, promoting better weight distribution and preventing it from sinking. The wild boar moves rather quickly, usually at a trot, and is able to gallop very fast even in dense woods, for example during a charge or escape. The most distinctive feature of the wild boar are its canines, often called tusks: these are continuously growing teeth, present in both sexes, but only in males are they large enough to protrude from the mouth.
They are crepuscular and nocturnal animals: during the day, they rest lying down in holes in the ground that they dig themselves with their snouts and hooves among the bushes, then enlarge them with wear and tear. During the winter, these holes are often padded with twigs and dry leaves.
Feeding and Habits
Wild boars are social animals that live in groups of about twenty adult females with their young, led by the oldest sow. However, in some areas with abundant food sources, groups of more than 50 animals can be found, often the result of several groups merging. Older males lead a solitary life for most of the year, while young males that have not yet mated tend to gather in small groups. Each group occupies its own territory, which covers an area of about twenty square kilometres and is marked by odorous secretions from the labial and anal areas: the territories of males are usually larger than those of females. Generally, the group remains in the same territory as long as there are sufficient resources for their sustenance, then abandons it in search of areas richer in food if food availability decreases: this explains the sudden appearance of wild boars in areas where historically their presence is not expected.
They communicate with each other through a wide range of sounds, including a series of grunts at various frequencies, as well as cries and roars that may serve to communicate their membership of a group or their readiness to mate or fight. The emission of sounds is also accompanied by olfactory communication through body odours or glandular secretions.
These animals have a very varied omnivorous diet.
Social behaviour and relations with humans
The gestation period for wild boars lasts approximately 115 days. Litters vary in size from three to twelve piglets. At birth, the piglets have their eyes open and scramble to find one of their mother’s twelve teats, arranged in two rows along her belly: in particularly large litters, the weakest piglets are therefore destined to die of starvation.
The young’s coat is brownish or reddish, with yellowish tips; on the back and sides there are 4-5 horizontal stripes ranging in colour from white to beige, which provide strong camouflage in the undergrowth and on the ground covered with dead leaves. Additional stripes are present on the shoulders and rear, while spots of the same colour may be present on the piglet’s snout: the arrangement of the stripes varies from individual to individual, making it possible to recognise young piglets individually.
During the first week after giving birth, female wild boars rarely leave their dens with their young, and if they do, they take care to hide the litter by covering it with branches and leaves during their absence. Mothers are extremely protective of their offspring and, while raising their litter, they become dangerous, attacking any intruder who could pose a threat to their offspring with powerful bites to the legs and body, whether it be a dangerous predator or even just a visitor walking through the woods. If a cub is taken from them, the females will chase the kidnapper at a gallop for several kilometres.
At one week old, the piglets are able to follow the female on her movements, returning to the den only at night. At two weeks old, the young wild boars begin to root in the ground and taste solid food, but continue to suckle their mother’s milk until at least three months of age: weaning can only be considered complete after the fourth month, and it is only after this milestone that the female and her young (which lose their juvenile coat colouring around the fourth month, acquiring their subadult colouring) return to their original herd.
Independence is achieved around the seventh month of life; however, cubs tend to stay with their mother until they are up to a year old, when they are driven away by adult males eager to mate with the female.
Always considered a sought-after prey for its meat, the wild boar is a fierce opponent due to its tenacity in combat. It was only during the 20th century that it ceased to be a primary source of food for humans, replaced in this role by its domestic descendant, the pig. Due to its close connection with humans, the wild boar appears frequently, and often in leading roles, in the mythology of many peoples.
