Wild Boar

Boars, a sort of wild pig, were not native to North America or the United States. They were brought here for food by Europeans in the 1500’s and then later, in the 1900’s by those who wanted to shoot them for sport.

Wild Boars in the US today are probably the great great grandchildren of those which were brought here a century or more ago.

Wild Boar

The wild boar is not the typical pink piglet with the curly tail.
These are very large, sometimes as much as five feet long and can weigh between 200 and 400 pounds. They can also be extremely dangerous.
They sport stiff black fur, which may also be spotted, and have very straight tails. The males have tusks that curve up out of their mouth.The females have smaller tusks, which are probably only about 2 inches long, while the males have tusks between two and five inches.
They are quite ferocious and will attack using the tusks to defend themselves when they feel threatened.Wild Boar live in forests near streams or ponds. Swine as a rule do not have sweat glands so to cool them self they wallow in mud or water.

Wild Boar in attack stance

Wallowing may also be used to help them rid themselves of pests such as fleas or ticks.The boar is a very fast runner and an excellent swimmer.
In the forest they eat acorns, hickory nuts and pecans, as well as roots, grass, fruit, mushrooms bugs, eggs and even sometimes other dead animals.The boar will normally range about ten miles searching for food. They have tough noses, called snouts, which they use to root looking for food.
They have very few natural enemies, however they are sometimes taken for food by other animals.

Wild Boar taken by an alligator

The wild boar has an excellent sense of smell so can sniff out foods even under the ground, and although their eyesight isn’t the best, their hearing is also excellent.
Females produce about one litter a year, as many as 10-14 babies, in a small nestlike structure, where the infants will stay for about a week to ten days, until they are large enough to follow her.
They are born with light brown fur that is striped from top to toe.
The female is extremely dangerous when guarding her babies and will attack readily if she feels you are too close to them.
At about 45 days old the babies are weaned and can find their own food, but often will stay wth the mother until they are 6-10 months old. Wild Boars are very often called pest animals since they are not native to the area, and when rooting they can cause soil erosion, kill native plants and root in gardens and fields.Due to this fact wild boar are very often hunted to keep them from being a danger to the people or the environment.