General

It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig. Wild boar are native across Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia. Populations have also been artificially introduced for hunting in parts of the world – most notably North America and Australasia.

Physical Characteristics

The head is large and the legs are relatively short. The colour usually varies from black, grey, brown and even off-white. The average length is 120–180 cm and 90 cm at the shoulders. The average weight is 50–90 kg kilograms.

Adult males develop tusks which protrude from the mouth. The tusks are both weapons and tools. The upper tusks are bent upwards and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. These tusks normally measure about 6 cm and in exceptional cases up to 12 cm.  The females have sharp canines, but they don’t have tusks.

Although they are generally shy, they are very smart and can be very nasty when they are provoked or feel threatened. Stay clear when you can.

Attacks

When a wild boar attacks, consider the following:

• They are very, very tasty – think bacon!
• Kill it,
• Clean it,
• Have a BBQ. (see pig roast)