Wild Boar Information

I pulled this great information from:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/publ/wlnotebook/pig.htm

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa), also known as wild pigs, wild hogs, wild boars, European wild boars, Russian wild boars, or razorbacks, are rangy-looking non-native members of the domestic swine family, Suidae. These transplants native to Europe and Asia are aggressive mammals posing serious ecological, economic, aesthetic, medical and veterinary threats. Feral pigs have recently been sighted in Wisconsin and they have worn out their welcome.

These feral members of the pig family should not be confused with the collared peccary, or javelina (Tayassu tajacu), the only native pig-like animal (Family Dicotylidae) living in the wilds of North America. Collared peccaries are much smaller than feral pigs, more uniformly and thickly coated and grayish in color, with a light collar over the shoulder. Their tails are nearly absent and their upper tusks point down, rather than up. Its habits and adaptations restrict it to living in brushy deserts, rocky canyons, scrub oak forests and arid mountain foothills of southern Texas, southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. As a native animal, the javelina is a natural and accepted member of North America's native community of plants and animals. Not so for the feral pig.
Looks are Everything

Feral pigs look very similar to the domestic pig. They are medium-sized hoofed mammals with a long, pointed head and stocky build. Males and females look much alike. Wild hogs exhibit great variation in color and size. The average wild sow weighs about 110 pounds (ranging from 77 to 330 pounds) and the average wild boar weighs 130 pounds (ranging from 130 to 440 pounds). Unusually large, trophy-sized feral pigs have been taken that reach three feet tall, six feet long and over 500 pounds. Their hair is coarse with long bristles (coarser, denser and longer than that of a domestic pig). Colors and patterns range from solid black, gray, brown, blonde, white, or red to spotted and belted combinations of these same colors. Most generally, however, the animals are black. An adult develops a thick, scruffy mane with stiff bristles tipped with blonde.
feral pig lower jaw showing long tusk

Feral pigs have elongated, flexible, tough, flattened snouts. Their pointed ears stand erect, about four to five inches above their head, though sometimes they flop outward. Their moderately long tails are sparsely haired, straight and never coiled like the tail of a domestic pig. They have four cloven feet, similar in appearance to a deer's hooves. Boars have four continually growing tusks that can be extremely sharp. The upper tusks are often 3 to 5 inches long, but have sometimes been recorded at 9 inches in length. These upper canines curl up and out along the sides of the mouth. The shorter lower canines also turn out and curve back toward the eyes. Usually the tusks are broken or worn from use. The boars use their tusks for defense and to establish a dominance hierarchy during breeding. Due to the injuries inflicted by these tusks, boars have also developed a thick, tough skin of cartilage and scar tissue around their shoulders.

Tracks 'n Trails

Tracks of feral pigs look similar to deer tracks, although the overall shape of a feral pig's track is rounder and less heart-shaped than that of a white-tailed deer. Pig tracks also tend to be relatively shorter (about 2 1/2 inches long), more splayed and more blunt at the tip than deer tracks. The front dewclaws, in soft soil, leave crescent shaped prints outside and behind the larger hoofs. The hind dewclaw prints, if present, look like dots.
damage caused by feral pigs rooting in woods

Scat is another sign that can be used to determine if feral pigs have been in the area. The droppings may be masses of pellets or in strings of sausage-like segments. Depending on the diet of the animal, the scats can range in size and consistency from that of a dog or a horse to that of a person.

Rooting is another common sign used to identify feral pig activity. These areas can be large, covering an entire field. In soft soils, rooting can be three feet deep.

damage caused by pigs wallowing in wetland soilsWallows are fairly sure signs of feral pig activity in wet soils.

Feral pigs also rub on a variety of objects to scratch themselves or to remove dried mud or parasites from their skin. They have been known to rub on trees, rocks, fence posts and power poles. The rubs are usually from ground level up to about 3 feet high, usually with bits of hair or mud clinging to the rubbed object.

Ways of the Wild

The home territory of a feral pig covers an area about 10 square miles or less. However, if food is in short supply, the pigs may range up to 50 square miles. They nest and rest in dense vegetation and secluded thickets. Their nests and beds are small, grass-lined hollows made of piles of grass and twigs.

A feral pig has a very strong sense of smell. It uses its tough, flexible nose to sniff out roots, tubers, and small animals living underground. Pigs also have a good sense of hearing, but a poor sense of eyesight. Feral pigs communicate with each other by grunting and squealing, similar to their domestic relatives.

These hoofed mammals can run up to 30 miles per hour and are good swimmers. They usually trot from one feeding ground to another and then slow to a walk.

Feral pigs live from about 15 to 25 years. Boars usually lead solitary lives, though several may band together. Sows forage with their young, usually about six in a family group. Several family groups may join together to live in a sounder (the proper term for a large group of pigs) of 50 or more individuals.

a pack of pigsFeral pigs, similar to people, can mate any time of the year. If a sow is not bred during the two or three days she is in estrus (in heat), she will become sexually receptive again 21 days later. Generally pigs mate during two peak breeding seasons: one in winter (December through February) and another in early summer. When a sow is in heat, boars gather and fight for dominance slashing their sharp tusks at a rival's shoulders. Boars travel between family groups in search of receptive sows. The dominant male mates first. The less dominant males slip in and mate after the dominant boar is finished breeding.

Sexual maturity and reproductive ability of feral pigs greatly depend upon nutrition and habitat. Under optimal conditions, sows can begin breeding at 6 months of age, and produce up to 4 litters per year with each litter consisting of 4 to 12 piglets. In northern portions of their range, biologists report that reproductively active sows generally only produce 2 litters per year consisting of 4-8 piglets.

After about a 115 day gestation period, sows give birth to piglets that weigh from one to two pounds at birth. The little ones have pale stripes running the length of their body until they are six weeks old. After one week of suckling, the piglets are able to follow their mother around. The young grow rapidly and are weaned in about three months. The offspring disperse after a year with their mother and are usually sexually mature by a year and a half. The young reach adult stature within three years and are fully-grown in five to six years.

Feral pigs have the unfortunate habit of trampling down and rooting up large areas of vegetation. As mentioned above, they will scratch and dig in wet ground to form wallows. Feral pigs make these wallows to escape heat and insects. They use these wallows mostly in the hot, insect-infested summer months.