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Wild Boar

Sus scrofa

Description:

The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, the legs relatively short. The fur consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in colour; even whitish animals are known from central Asia.[6] During winter the fur is much denser. Adult boars measure 90–200 cm (35–79 in) in length, not counting a tail of 15–40 cm (5.9–16 in), and have a shoulder height of 55–110 cm (22–43 in).[7][8] As a whole, their average weight is 50–90 kg (110–200 pounds), though boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical ranges.[9] In central Italy, their weight usually ranges from 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb) while boars shot in Tuscany have been recorded to weigh up to 150 kg (331 lb). An unusually large French specimen shot in Negremont forest in Ardenne in 1999 weighed 227 kg (550 lb). Carpathian boars have been recorded to reach weights of 200 kg (441 lb). Romanian and Russian boars can reach weights of 300 kg (661 lb), while unconfirmed giants reported in early Russian hunting journals have reportedly weighed up to 320 kg (710 lb).[7][8] Generally speaking, native Eurasian boars follow Bergmann's rule, with smaller boars nearer the tropics and larger, smaller-eared boars in the North of their range. Mature sows from Southeast Asia and southern India may weigh as little as 44 kg (97 lb).[8] Adult males develop tusks, continuously growing teeth that protrude from the mouth, from their upper and lower canine teeth. These serve as weapons and tools. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males, and are regularly ground against the lower ones to produce sharp edges. The tusks normally measure about 6 cm (2.4 in), in exceptional cases even 12 cm (4.7 in). Females also have sharp canines, but they are smaller, and not protruding like the males' tusks.[10][11] Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, having marbled chocolate and cream stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months old, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown colour (see photo in Reproduction section to compare adult and juvenile colouring).

Habitat:

Wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises.[2] Wild boar are native across much of Northern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean Region (including North Africa's Atlas Mountains) and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia. Populations have also been artificially introduced in some parts of the world, most notably the Americas and Australasia, principally for hunting. Elsewhere, populations have also become established after escapes of wild boar from captivity

Notes:

Mom,piglets and Papa,that stay allway sleeping during my shoots,althougth the enourmeous noise that 2 teenage classes done,these ones are happy,i dream in spotting all those animals and birds in the wild,but thats another story,not easy to achived:) spotted in the Vila Nova de Gaia biological Park

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7 Comments

AntónioGinjaGinja
AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

thanks Pouihi,i promise that in other ocassion i'll make a spotting about them,they are gorgeous but a little afraid because of the noise the students classes where doing at the time i passed there :)

AntónioGinjaGinja
AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

Thanks Satyen for your nice comments my friend :)

Wild Things
Wild Things 11 years ago

Great series and information!

AntónioGinjaGinja
AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

Thanks again Ava,when i have time and i know the id i tried to put more info,others wise at list i put the link for wikipedia,it's allways good to make things like" il faut"

Ava T-B
Ava T-B 11 years ago

I really appreciate how much information you put with each spotting; I wish more people added information to their pictures. And those piglets are adorable!

AntónioGinjaGinja
AntónioGinjaGinja 11 years ago

thanks Maria,yes it's,i was a little with a" foot back" as we say in portugal,relativly at what the facilitys where like,in the end of the two days i have gone there the balance is 200% positif,i'am amazed with such a perfect organization and philosophie,like the best i saw in douzens of docs about foreigner wild life center's,it's not hugh but it as 35 hectares very well cared,there are allways one or other animal needing more space,but they are allways improving and a ampliation is in course and i hope to se for example the fox place bigger,and certain prairy bird and the owls need more space,even so i became a fun of the Park :)

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

It seems as if it is a great park!

Porto, Portugal

Spotted on Jun 13, 2012
Submitted on Jun 17, 2012

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