Sus scrofa

Eurasian wild boar (scientific name: Sus scrofa) English Wild Boar, Eurasian Wild Pig, Ryukyu Islands Wild Pig, French Sanglier, Sanglier d'Eurasie, Spanish Jabalí, German Schwarzwild, Wildschwein, Mongolian Zerleg Gakhai, is a medium-sized mammal with 20 subspecies.

Eurasian wild boar females are gregarious and relatively social animals, and even solitary males may join foraging groups, forming herds of varying sizes depending on location and season, living in loose groups called "sound generators". They are found in groups of 6-20 individuals, with groups of 4-10 being more common, although larger groups of more than 100 individuals have been reported. Small groups consist of one or more breeding females and their last litter, and can usually be found in the same area as other small groups, although the two groups tend not to intermingle. Males, however, are solitary for most of the year, except during the breeding season when they can be found in close proximity to other males in the group. Males compete with each other for the opportunity to mate with females.

Foraging for Eurasian wild boars is usually a social activity, during which they also display a number of other behaviors. Radio telemetry studies in southern France have shown that they typically travel 2-15 km per night, but generally within a range of 20-150 hectares. However, the home range of adult females and adult males over a period of 2-3 months is estimated to be 500-1,000 hectares and 1,000-2,000 hectares, respectively. During the same period, subadults occupy an area of 500-5,000 ha, and after 6-12 months they may cover an area of more than 10,000 ha; the larger home ranges of these animals are associated with their expulsion from their natal group and then a wandering phase. Long-distance (50-250 km) movements have also been recorded in Europe, but the extent and purpose of these movements have not been studied. Experiments in which tagged animals were released and subsequently recovered demonstrated that they can disperse freely over larger areas (500-750 km2), which may also indicate the area occupied by large populations. Free-range density. Eurasian wild boars in Europe rarely exceed 5 individuals per km2, although densities elsewhere are much higher, such as 27-32 individuals per km2 in Ujung Kulon National Park on the island of Java and 32.2-72.1 individuals per km2 in the sugarcane region of Punjab, Pakistan.

The Eurasian wild boar is a nocturnal animal, usually most active in the early morning and evening, becoming nocturnal in disturbed areas, usually starting shortly before sunset and continuing throughout the night. It spends about 12 hours of the day sleeping in dense foliage, then wakes up to forage under the cover of night. Foraging or going to feeding areas takes a total of 4-8 hours. It usually does not move around during the day. It is generally active in the morning and evening to forage, and enters the dense forest at noon to avoid the sun. The Eurasian wild boar likes to take mud baths. The male also spends a lot of time rubbing its sides against stumps, rocks and hard river banks, which wears the skin into a hard protective layer to avoid serious injuries in the fights during the estrus period.

The bristles on the Eurasian wild boar have the same warmth as a sweater. In summer, they shed part of their bristles to cool down. Their activity range is generally 8-12 square kilometers, and they spend most of their time in familiar areas. They defecate at a fixed location in the center of their territory, and the height of their feces can reach 1 meter. Each group has a territory of about 10 square kilometers. When there is a conflict with other groups, the boar is responsible for guarding the group. When the boars fight, they start to attack each other from a distance of 20-30 meters. The winner celebrates by grinding his teeth and urinating to mark the territory. The loser runs away with his tail up. Some suffer skull fractures or are killed. They often communicate at long and short distances through humming sounds. There are as many as 7-30 species of animals per square kilometer in the habitat.

The nose of the Eurasian wild boar is very tough and powerful. It can be used to dig caves or push 40-50 kilograms of weights, or as a weapon. They have a very sensitive sense of smell. They can use their nose to distinguish the maturity of food, and even search for a walnut buried under 2 meters of snow. The male can also determine the location of the female by smell. The Eurasian wild boar has been running in the forest since childhood and has developed good physical strength. Chased by hounds, it can run continuously for 15-20 kilometers. This extraordinary physical strength makes even marathon runners feel ashamed. Eurasian wild boars spend a lot of time eating and sleeping. Some Eurasian wild boars often gather together by rivers, lakes and ponds for fear of being discovered by natural enemies. They often sleep on sandbanks in rivers, so that they can immediately cross the river when they encounter danger, leaving no smell and ensuring safety.

In the European Alps, some people found that Eurasian wild boars can "qigong". In winter, in order to go down the mountain to find food as quickly as possible, they immediately "qigong" to make their bodies barrel-shaped, and then roll down the mountain. No matter how steep the mountain is or how hard the stone is, it will not hurt their bones. In addition, some people have witnessed that there are many Eurasian wild boars living on the reef islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The fangs in their mouths are particularly sharp. When there is a lack of traditional food, they can also swim in the shallow sea and rely on fishing to fill their stomachs.

The Eurasian wild boar is an omnivore that feeds mainly on plants, with plant matter accounting for about 90% of its food. It has a very diverse diet and eats anything that can be eaten. It feeds on tender leaves, nuts, berries, grass leaves and grass roots, and uses its hard snout to dig roots and bulbs from the ground. Living in a highly seasonal area, the Eurasian wild boar has to adapt to the ever-changing fruits and foods. They like to eat protein-rich nuts (such as acorns) in the fall and prepare for the coming winter. However, they will eat almost anything that fits into their mouths, such as bird eggs, mice, lizards, worms, carrion, and even hares, deer calves, and snakes to supplement their diet. They will also kill another animal and discard it because of excitement. Eurasian wild boars like to live in oak forests on sunny slopes in winter, because the sunny slopes are warm, and there are a lot of acorns under the oak forest leaf litter. Eurasian wild boars rely on these plant ingredients to survive the cold winter. Once the acorns are harvested, a large number of Eurasian wild boars will starve to death in the spring of the following year. This is also the law of natural elimination of Eurasian wild boars. In summer, Eurasian wild boars like to live near water sources, especially subalpine meadows. The mountains are high and the temperature is low, and there are natural pools. Eurasian wild boars often feed here and bathe in muddy water.

When threatened, wild boars will defend themselves with their tusks, while tuskless sows will bite. Although not fatal, such attacks can cause severe trauma. Wild boars are prey to tigers. Tigers will stalk wild boar herds and attack them one by one, a method that has been used to completely destroy entire herds. Tigers will also hunt wild boars, but rarely do so with male boars, although it is extremely rare for wild boars to kill tigers in self-defense. Wolves also eat wild boars, especially in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, and Russia. Wolves rarely attack wild boars face to face, but often attack the perineum, causing them to lose balance and bleed profusely. In some areas of the former Soviet Union, individual wolves or groups of wolves can kill 50-80 wild boars per year. In some areas of Italy, the Eurasian wild boar has developed a more aggressive behavior towards wolves and domestic dogs due to the large number of Eurasian wild boars hunted by wolves. Striped hyenas sometimes hunt Eurasian wild boars, but it seems to be limited to northwest Africa, the Middle East and India. The natural enemies of the Eurasian wild boar are wild animals such as wolves, bears, leopards, lynxes, and birds of prey.

Eurasian wild boars are "polygamous". During the estrus period, there will be a fight between males, and the winner will naturally occupy the dominant position. Females usually start looking for a suitable location for the "delivery room" a few days before giving birth. The location of the nest is generally chosen in a hidden place. They bring leaves, soft grass and moss to make a soft and comfortable "delivery bed" to protect the newborn "children" from wind and rain. The cubs have 4 long teeth when they are just born, and they can bite and eat after two weeks. The mother stays with the piglets for the first few weeks to protect them from hunger and predators. When going out, the female leads the way and the piglets follow closely behind her, looking for food in the trenches she digs. When the piglets are still small, the female takes care of the piglets alone. At this time, the female is very aggressive and even the males are afraid of her. After the piglets grow up for a few weeks, the female's temper changes. The females love their "children" very much and take good care of them. They always take good care of the piglets, carefully prepare sleeping places for them to avoid wind and rain, and more importantly, hide them from carnivores. The reproduction rate and survival rate of the piglets of the Eurasian wild boar are very high. The gestation period of females is 4 months, and they give birth to 4-12 piglets per litter. In the reproductive period, females can give birth to two litters a year, usually one in April and May, and another in autumn. After the piglets are born, the color of their bodies changes with age. From birth to 6 months, there are khaki stripes on the body, which is to better camouflage itself. Later, the stripes on the body begin to fade. From 2 months to 1 year old, its body is red, and after 1 year old, it enters adulthood and its body color turns black. It is often called "black Eurasian wild boar". Interestingly, the weight of a young Eurasian wild boar can increase 100 times in the first year after birth. This growth rate is rare among vertebrates. As the young wild boar grows up, the male Eurasian wild boar will soon look for the female Eurasian wild boar. When food is abundant, a female Eurasian wild boar of the best age can give birth twice a year.

Domestic pigs and Eurasian wild boars often "combine". In the deep mountains and dense forests, the sows raised by the mountain people sometimes find it difficult to find a mate when they are in estrus, so they "elope" to the forest and mate with wild boars. After the "honeymoon", the wild boar sent the "bride" out of the forest. When they parted, they stayed at the edge of the forest for a long time, looking up, reluctant to leave. Four months later, the fruit of love was born. The piglets were also colorful, with yellow stripes, some yellow and white, and some yellow and black. They were different from purebred Eurasian wild boars and domestic pigs. The piglets grew fast and strong, and their meat was lean and had high nutritional value. This undoubtedly gave people ideas for the development of Eurasian wild boars.

Wild boar hunting is also a subject for oil painting, and this sport-like event in the Western world has always been sought after.

Globally, there are no major threats to the Eurasian wild boar. However, there are many threats at the local level, mainly habitat destruction and hunting pressure, whether for food, sport or retaliation for its damage to crops, especially near human settlements. In Afghanistan in the 1950s

The Eurasian wild boar was originally found in the extreme west of the British Isles, in Eurasia from southern Scandinavia to southern Siberia, eastward to Korea and Japan, and southeastward to the Sunda Islands and Taiwan Island, China. In the south, the species follows the Nile Valley to Khartoum, north of Sahara Africa, and more or less along the continental coasts of South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Within this range, this species can only be found in very dry deserts. The driest areas of Mongolia and the high mountainous areas west of Sichuan, China, such as the high altitude areas of the Pamirs and Tianshan Mountains.
China's distribution is widely distributed in China except for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Gobi Desert. The distribution of Eurasian wild boars in China is mainly concentrated in the three northeastern provinces, Yunnan-Guizhou region, Fujian, and Guangdong. China began to introduce the technology of artificial breeding of Eurasian wild boars

The Eurasian wild boar is a medium-sized mammal. It weighs 90-200 kg; its body length is 1.5-2 meters (excluding the tail length), its shoulder height is about 90 cm (gradually tilted towards the tail), its tail length is 21-38 cm, and its ears are 24-26 cm long; the size varies from region to region. In some areas, the weight of Eurasian wild boars can reach more than 200 kg, and the weight of Eurasian wild boars produced in the southern part of Northeast China and the Russian Far East can even reach nearly 400 kg. They have a thick double-layer fur, the overall color of the fur is dark brown or black, the top layer is composed of harder bristles, and there is a layer of soft fine hair under the bottom layer. The back is covered with hard and sparse guard hair, the hair is coarse and sparse, and the hair grows denser in winter. Older ones will have white hair on their backs, but there are also regional differences. White Eurasian wild boars have appeared in Central Asia. The bristles