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Sus scrofa L.
Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Suidae .

Boar

Description, Biology, Life Cycle, Damage, Common Names, Images

[R]Description
- Adult: massive body, 1.1 to 1.8 m long, 60 to 110 cm high at the withers. Weight up to 170 kg (in France), twice this in Eastern Europe. The wild sow is smaller than the male. Very large head, long-shaped muzzle ending in the snout, tail ending with a tuft of hair, tusks (canine) protruding from both sides of the mouth. The fur is stiff, dark (*) .
- Young: the young wild boars aged less than 6 months are striped longitudinally, then they acquire a uniform ginger colour until the age of 1 year.

[R]Biology
- Mainly vegetarian, the boar eats acorns, roots, tubers... which it can unearth. It readily attacks crops near the forest: maize (at the milky stage), red beet and potato in particular. It also feeds on small animals (insects, earthworms, snails...).
- It lives in dense plant-covered areas, in the forest, in scrub, in companies (family groups from which old males are excluded) (*) .
- During the day, it remains hidden in a wallow (small elongated depression with a smooth base), in thickets. It is active during night time. Capable of travelling up to 80 km (at walking pace, at a trot, at a gallop, swimming) in search of its food.
- Longevity: rarely more than 10 to 15 years.
- It is present, often in abundance, all over Europe (except in the British Isles and Ireland) and in North Africa.

[R]Life Cycle
- Mating takes place from October to February. In the "cauldron" (sort of nest) that it has prepared, the wild sow produces 3 to 8 young wild boars in April-May, after a gestation period of 115 days.
- Weaning takes place at 3 months and independance at 6 months old. The wild sow is sexually mature when 1 year old, the male when 18 months or 2 years old.

[R]Damage
- Crops are dug up and trodden on in strips (*) (*) . Damage has to be paid for by the hunters.

[R]Common Names
DE: Wildschwein ES: Jabalí FR: Sanglier IT: Cinghiale PT: Javali GB: Boar

[R] Images

  1. Sus scrofa L. (Roobrouck)
    Adult
  2. Sus scrofa L. (Canta R.)
    Adults
  3. Sus scrofa L. (Barbier L. / ONC)
    Brush of wild boar near a wallow
  4. Sus scrofa L. (Vassant J. / ONC)
    Damage in wheat field
  5. Sus scrofa L. (Barbier L. / ONC)
    Tracks
  6. Sus scrofa L. (Barbier L. / ONC)
    Damage alongside a footpath
  7. Sus scrofa L. (Barbier L. / ONC)
    Damage in wheat field

To read this page in French

HYPPZ on line : Species (scientific name), Pests (common names), Glossary, Crops.

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