Wild Boar: back from extinction with a vengeance!

A few thousand years ago, the UK was exploding with Brown Bears, Wild Boar, Beavers, Lynx, and Wolves. Forest covered 60% of the UK at its peak, meaning other extant large mammals like the Wildcat and Pine Marten were widespread. Today,

This capture is by wildlife photographer Simon Spedding, 

who posts photos of wildlife on his Instagram account: 

@sssssspeds

however, the Scottish Wildcat teeters on the brink of extinction; Pine Martens have only hung on because of Conservationists, while Beavers have already gone extinct once before. Though there are tentative steps to introduce Lynx to Scotland, pretty much all our previous megafauna is extinct. 

However, a few decades ago, one species decided it had been extinct long enough: the magnificent wild boar!


After being hunted to extinction in the 17^th century, mainly through breakouts but also deliberate releases, Wild Boar are back and there’s more of them than ever! The first few sightings were reported again back in the 1990s when they were discovered by gamekeepers. Since then the population has skyrocketed to roughly 4000 boars, with over 1,600 of these living in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire.

A woodland made of Oak meets a woodland of Pine trees 

meet in the middle of the Forest Of Dean.

Where to see them:

Whilst they’re most concentrated in the Forest of Dean (especially in Ross on Wye) there’re populations all over the UK. The second-largest of these is around the Kent/Sussex border, comprising of a few hundred animals, although there are also breeding populations in West Devon and Dorset. Recently the boars have even decided to cross the border into South Wales where there's now a healthy population, there're even some rumors of boar in Scotland.

However, it can be hard to know how reliable some of these sightings are, since Wild Boar
 are immensely powerful and expert escape artists, regularly escaping Boar Farms where they’re killed for their fur and meat to live wild.


Are Wild Boar doing too well?

Currently, Wild Boar are flourishing in the UK countryside, with some sources believing that there could be more now than there have ever been. This is partly attributed to Climate Change because, despite their tough persona, they struggled to find food during harsh historic UK winters. Now though, this poses no problem to them, as the Winters are now extremely mild, and they can happily forage all year round.

An adult Wild Boar photographed in the Forest 

Dean by wildlife enthusiast Marco Garcia

Gala.

Combined with this is that unlike before, when they would’ve been hunted by Bears, Wolves, and the young ones probably by Lynx, the boars now have no predators to keep them in check, apart from us. This is the same with deer in the UK because while they are beneficial to the ecosystem, you can have too much of a good thing in this case. When there are lots of deer, they can actually do a lot of damage, such as destroying habitats for nesting birds through over-browsing (browsing is when herbivores feed on leaves and shoots high-up).

The River Wye in the Forest Of Dean-a Wild Boar hotspot.

Over time this has sparked the debate about should we cull them? Which’s what currently happens with both deer and, (although less frequently) Wild Boar. This is done with boar to try and bottleneck the population since they regularly dig up graveyards, gardens, and any other green space where there could be food for them. Plus, there’re concerns that they’re a danger to the public. And while there have been deaths and attacks caused by Boars, with exceptions to car collisions, none of them were unprovoked.


Probably the most famous incident was when a dogwalker had a chunk of his hand bitten off by a boar in the Forest of Dean, which has fuelled a lot of people's fear towards them. However, it was likely just owing to the Wild Boars' protective nature over each other (especially when there’re piglets involved) with the females (sows) even doing false charges when they feel threatened.

This was probably the case with here, the boar saw the dog as a threat, and possibly the man since they recognize that people cull them. Then when they both got a bit too close it charged and gave the man a warning bite to say, “back off”. It probably didn't actually want to do any serious damage since they do have the capability to dish out a lot if they feel they have too.


But the good thing is they won’t go out of their way to deliberately hurt someone, and 9/10 times (probably more) they’ll just turn tail and run. And anyway, treated with proper respect I don’t think there is an aggressive animal on the planet (apart from polar Bears which hunt humans regardless). I also think that while culling them is an easy solution, there's got to be a better one out there that does less damage and pleases more people.


A bit more about Wild Boar:

However, besides hunting them and eating them, some people sadly don't think much of Wild Boar, but they are extremely intelligent animals and I think they're e.

A Wild Boars footprint-notice the two small circular

holes behind the main part of the track-they can be

handy to separatea Wild Boars track from a deers.

They’re pretty powerful animals, growing to around 1 meter tall at the shoulder, the males being recognizable from the females by having a prominent dorsal ridge, where the fur is contrastingly darker and higher. Also, unlike the females the two bottom canines of the male protrude from the mouth and grow into long tusks, reaching up to 12cm, which are used in determining social rank, and also to assist with foraging.


Their diet itself is surprisingly varied, one of the main things that have resulted in them being so versatile. They’re primarily vegetarians, eating seeds, nuts, roots, and bulbs, which they get to by using their strong, cumbersome heads to turn over huge chunks of earth. This is one of the main things to look out for when trying to find Wild Boar since they leave behind distinct lumps of mud that's been peeled back. They’re also opportunistic omnivores, eating invertebrates, eggs, baby birds, and occasionally small mammals and carrion (dead animals, like a Red Deer carcass).

An adult Wild Boar in the Forest Of Dean-running

away from people. Photo was taken by Marco 

Garcia Gala.

This’s meant that while forests are their preferred habitats, they do colonize others, and are increasingly turning up in farmland, marshes, and towns.


Breeding:

Probably one of the best times to go looking for Wild Boar is during Winter. This is because they’re crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and nocturnal, especially in Summer and Spring, when they’ll sleep through the warm weather. However, during Winter and Autumn when it’s cooler, they’re more likely to be active during the day, plus from late November-March it’s the busiest time of year for them: the rut!

Two juvenile Wild Boars playing together-photo

also taken by dfmfamily. 

This is the only time when the males (boars) aren’t solitary and come together in large groups to compete to mate. The dominant males are usually polygamous (they have several mates so prevent the younger males from mating) but sometimes shoving, biting, and charging episodes do break out, determining who gets how many females.

This picture was taken and posted online by photography 

account: dfmfamily  on Instagram of a juvenile

Wild Boar losing its stripes.

Once mated, each female incredibly creates a nest, just like a bird. She first removes some of the vegetation to make a slight depression in the ground, then piles sticks, pine needles, anything will do, on top of it up to 70cm high, before giving birth in it to usually 4-10 piglets. They’re much smaller than the adults, bearing that charismatic striped ginger and blonde coat making them resemble a mint humbug.


Why Wild Boar should stay in the UK's forests:
In many communities, Wild Boar are resented for their destructive foraging habits, which have been proven to have some negative impacts on the environment (such as reducing plants like Bluebells). Nonetheless, though, they’re also great ecological engineers, and turning over the soil has the same results in a forest as it does when gardeners do it. A lot of the time it actually increases the diversity of plants, allowing more seeds to take whilst unearthing some buried deeper underground. It also increases the speed of decay, by mixing the leaf litter in with the soil, which also supplies more food to the soil organisms, keeping the earth healthy.

Overall, while they are a bit annoying sometimes, they’re specifically designed to live in our forests and have lived with people for thousands of years in other countries, and I hope they’re here for years to come!

A female Boar and her piglets melting into the Forest

Of Dean-photo taken by Marco Garcia Gal