The wild boar, the ancestor to our domestic pigs, is a large pig species covered in dark bristly hairs. It is a widespread species, common in broadleaf forests across much of Europe, Asia and North Africa.

Life span
15-20 years.

Statistics
90-180cm long with a tail of 30-40cm and weighing between 50 and 200kg.

Physical description
Ancestors to our domestic pigs, wild boar have long bodies with short legs and a large head on a short neck. Their coat is made of short, bristly hairs and is dark or brindled, although the young are tan with distinctive pale stripes. The snout is prominent, the tail short but tassled, and the ears large and hairy.

Distribution
Europe, North Africa, Asia (including Sumatra, Japan and Taiwan), and introduced into North America. Feral domestic pigs also live in Australia, New Zealand and North and South America.

Habitat
Broad-leaved woodland and steppe.

Diet
Omnivorous, rooting in litter for roots, nuts, fungi, small animals and carrion.

Behaviour
Adult males are solitary, but females form groups, including their young, called sounders. They communicate constantly using sounds, smell and visual signals such as the position of the ears and tail. Wild boar are active during the day and evening.

Reproduction
Males and females become sexually mature at 18 months, although males may only mate when they reach a certain size and dominance, often around 4 years old. Mating takes place in the autumn after fights between the males to establish dominance. There are many courtship rituals before a receptive female will allow a male to mate, including the production of a salivary foam by the male which may contain pheromones from a lip gland. The young are born after a gestation of 115 days in a nest of vegetation built by the mother, each piglet having its own teat. They are weaned after about 3 months but the piglets will remain with their mother until she gives birth again. The females may continue to live in their mother's sounder until it becomes too large and splits up.

Conservation status
The wild boar, although extinct in many parts of its former range, is not threatened. Feral populations are now resident in Britain, where it was hunted to extinction in medieval times.

Voice
Vocalisations are very important, and wild boar are constantly grunting and chirruping to each other, and squeal when alarmed.