Field signs
Their presence is often betrayed by the rooting damage they cause before the animals themselves are seen. Foraging signs of wild boar include severely rooted fields, pastures and woodland leaf litter, usually in small patches but can extend to whole fields. They often damage fences in order to get under rabbit netting; they root beneath with their snouts, then lift it, leaving arches of lifted wire. This behaviour can lead to high economic loss when deer and rabbits subsequently invade areas formerly protected by the fencing. Wallowing in mud leaves a smooth-sided oval depression with hoof prints showing the characteristic large dew claws. Rubbing against trees to remove ectoparasites often results in characteristic marking of trees, with hairs being left behind as evidence. Faeces are irregular in shape, up to seven centimetres thick by 10 cm long and black, occasionally with a purplish hue.
Habits
Wild boar are elusive and nocturnal. They use a mosaic of habitats but appear to prefer heavilywooded countryside. They are predominantly, but not exclusively, vegetarian and have a wide diet including tree fruits such as acorns and chestnuts, bulbs, roots, carrion, worms, larvae, eggs, nestlings, small mammals, insects, potatoes and wheat.
Reproduction and life cycle
Wild boar are seasonal breeders. Before rutting, which occurs in the autumn and winter, males develop a protective layer of fat on their chest and shoulders. During the rut the dominant male mates with most females, driving off rivals using slashing tusks and sometimes causing lethal injuries. Males lose weight during the rut.
Pregnancy lasts 115-120 days, and sows usually give birth (farrowing) in spring and usually produce one litter per year. Four to six young are born in a well-concealed farrowing nest. Piglets will cross-suckle between other lactating sows. Piglets are born with a coat of alternating brown and creamy-yellow longitudinal stripes, which disappear as they are weaned at 12-16 weeks, to be replaced by a reddish-brown colour. The adult coat colour appears at about 12 months of age. Females are sexually mature from 18 months of age, and males from under a year old.
Distribution, status and conservation
Wild boar went extinct in Britain by 1300 and those now present in Kent are mainly the result of escapes from boar farms. Their genetic heritage is complex and few substantial breeding colonies occur in the county. The only sustainable colony is possibly on the Kent/East Sussex border. It is mainly their destructive activities on agricultural land which bring them into conflict with farmers. The future of wild boar in Kent is largely under Government control. Outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis or foot and mouth disease could result in a legislated total cull.
The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has confirmed a breeding population in Kent/East Sussex.
