Eurasian Wild Boar

The wild boar, also called the wild swine, common wild pig or Eurasian wild pig, is a bulky, massively built pig with short, relatively thin legs. The neck is short and thick and the head very large, up to a third of the body length and shaped for digging. Males are typically 5 to 10 per cent larger and 20 to 30 per cent heavier than females, carry a mane down the back and have canines that grow throughout life, the lower ones sharper and longer. Size depends strongly on habitat; the weights given are general species figures from Europe (Wikipedia, general species account).

The coat is coarse bristles over short downy fur, and colour varies widely. Piglets are light or rusty brown with pale bands. Boars live in groups of related females and their young, while adult males are usually solitary outside the breeding season. It is a highly versatile omnivore that digs up roots, tubers and bulbs, and eats nuts, berries, leaves, invertebrates, small vertebrates and carrion. Its sense of smell is very well developed, its hearing acute and its eyesight comparatively weak (Wikipedia, general species account).