Wild Boar
| Latin Name | Sus scrofa scrofa |
|---|---|
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Cetartiodactyla |
| Family | Suidae |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Habitat | Semi-desert to tropical rain forests, temperate woodlands, grasslands to agricultural land |
| Distribution | Widespread in Europe, Asia and North Africa |
General Information
Ancestors of our domestic pig the males have 4 growing tusks which are used for fighting off other males in the breeding season.
They were hunted to extinction in the 1600s but were re-introduced for meat farming with the inevitable escapees they are now found in many UK woodlands.
Fun Fact
Babies are called ‘boarlets’ and have stripy coats until they reach 5-6 months old.
Keeper Notes
Like all pigs Wild Boar spend a large part of their day rooting with their snouts. Eventually they clear their enclosure of all vegetation so we have to move them to an adjacent enclosure to allow natural regeneration and some re-seeding of the grassy areas. So they can been seen either in their enclosure in Wallaby Wood or in the Deer Encounter.
We currently have Duke, the boar and Duchess, the sow, who have arrived from Wildwood Trust, in Kent, in April 2021. We hope the new pair will successfully breed this year.