Boar - enviable hunting trophy... This is one of the most interesting and courageous hunts. The extraction of this strong and intelligent animal requires from hunters not only enviable endurance and masterly possession of weapons, but also hunting experience, knowledge of the biology of this animal. According to the testimony of many experts, boar hunting is hardly the most dangerous. It is comparable to bear hunting, with the only significant difference that the wild boar is a herd animal. Compared to any animal hunting, wild boar hunting requires a lot of careful and scrupulous preparation for it. It is not by chance that it is used here plural- "hunters", only a few, even very experienced hunters, decide on such hunts alone.

Wild boar, wild boar - Sus scrofa

Biologists say that the original homeland of the wild boar is North Africa, then, gradually expanding its range, it spread throughout the world, excluding only the Arctic regions. The wild boar, the wild pig, inhabits almost everywhere in Russia, the south of Western and Eastern Siberia, the foothills of the Sayan and Altai Mountains, and the gradual penetration into the taiga zone further to the north are no exception. Wild boar habitats are forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones with a sufficient number of water bodies. Swampy areas and areas overgrown with tall grass, reeds and bushes are especially favorable. The genus wild pig, wild boar or wild boar, refers to artiodactyls with a mixed type of food. Wild boars are omnivorous and their type of food depends on the region of their habitat, can easily change depending on conditions. But still, this animal is not a hunter, so it needs a good plant food base. It is the moist areas of the forest, lowlands in the steppe regions, wetlands, as well as the proximity of human farmland, that are the most favorable places for human habitation.

A wild pig is a social animal, wild boars live in families, sometimes forming very numerous herds... The herd, as is typical for all many ungulates, has a well-defined structure and matriarchal character. The leader is the older female. The wild boar is polygamous, there are 3 - 5 females per male. This is due to the fact that females become sexually mature already on next year, males - after 3-4 years. The rutting period begins in late autumn and lasts until mid-winter. Piglets are born in 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days (according to an old hunting adage) - in the spring with warming. There are up to 12 cubs, and the mother copes with their feeding perfectly.

Boars feed at twilight time, during the day they lie on their beds. Salient feature pigs - lack of sweat glands. This helps to be less visible to predators, and to be successful in capturing small prey themselves. This also explains the pig's love for water and mud baths - in this way it maintains the temperature balance in the body. Wild boars are quite frost-resistant, but settle in areas with high snow cover, where you can hide from the cold. The hairline consists of a stiff, dense bristle and underfur under it. The boar's vision is not developed, but hearing and smell are very developed. The movements are swift, albeit clumsy. The peculiarity of the body structure with a powerful clumsy neck resembles a torpedo. The opinion that the boar is clumsy can play a cruel joke with the hunter. The boar is swift in movement and quick, although its maneuverability leaves much to be desired.

The wild pig adapts so well to different conditions, the styles of behavior and diet are so varied, that this makes it one of the most interesting objects for the tracker. Such knowledge of habits will help to hunt wild boar correctly.

Wild boar hunting methods

V middle lane Boar hunting in Russia was one of the widespread aristocratic occupations. They hunted wild boars in a corral in the reeds, at field feeding, hunts for hounds and hunts in ambush in storage sheds were organized. Also, wild boars were hunted from a riding horse. Today, wild boar hunting has left the category of elite, but it remains one of the most prestigious and interesting for any hunter. Traditionally, permitted hunting methods can be divided into the following:

  • hunting from a storage shed or tower for feeding;
  • hunt from cover;
  • hunting from under the dog;
  • approach hunting without dogs.

The first two methods are variations on the same thing. They are based on attracting a herd of wild boars for bait or waiting at permanent feeding grounds. As a rule, storage sheds are equipped in places of artificial feeding grounds in developed hunting farms. Huts and huts are shelters on natural forage areas for wild boars, the probability of the presence of prey on them is lower. Hunting period from June 1 to mid-February at the end mating season ... V summer period only male cleavers are allowed to hunt. On baits and foraging grounds, you can confidently distinguish the object of the shot. Wild boar hunting rules are not allowed in the summer. The use of dogs is an autumn hunting method. Although it is a type of walking hunting, it is allocated in a special category, since it requires the presence of dogs that are attracted by the animal. This is the prerogative of amateurs.

The most common hunting available to any fairly experienced hunter is approach hunting. This method is considered the most sporting, it tests the hunter for courage and endurance, for the ability to track down the beast and quietly sneak up on him for the right shot. As in summer, wild boars are hunted in the fall either at dusk on a fat tree or lying down during the day. Each method has its own advantages. Each can be used both for individual hikes and with a partner. Main question in any running hunt - the search for the beast. You can get a lot of general recommendations, but without knowing the conditions of a particular area, hunting will be like a lottery. It is necessary to know the peculiarities of behavior, food preferences of local animals by seasons, dependence on the weather and many other factors.

Approach to the wild boar

The wild boar feeds in herd, at dusk and at night. This is not the most the best time for an accurate shot. It is best to select open places and moonlit nights for such hunts. The method of finding feeding places is based on knowledge of the area, the availability of possible foraging grounds and the preferences of local boars. The search process itself is expressed in cutting off the surveyed lands, cutting off, narrowing the search area. It somewhat resembles tracking, but requires very high care and knowledge of the habits of a boar. With the onset of dusk, the herd goes to feed. If these are open lands, older individuals often listen and sniff before leaving to avoid an ambush.

Therefore, to search for wild boars, you need to move against the wind, when approaching promising lands, you cannot hear to step, pay attention to any sound. The cry of a disturbed bird, the noise of a bush being pushed apart may mean the approach of an animal.

When the herd begins to feed, the animals themselves make a rather noticeable noise by their movement, chomping. This makes them easier to detect and approach. At the time of feeding, the wild boars lose their vigilance, at these moments you can approach the herd.

The difficulty of hunting for feeding in closed areas at dusk suggests even greater caution in movement and the hunter's readiness to shoot. The fact that wild boars prefer to move along paths and clearings makes it easier to find and track down the herd. Their paths of movement are always constant. The boar goes out to feed and returns to rest along the same path. The same feature helps with the second method of hunting.

Approach on a boar lodge

If the wild boar feeds in open places and lands, which allows him to control the situation and complicates the hunt for the hunter, then he rests in the densest thickets, in the thicket. It is not easy to locate the family's lodging, it requires excellent knowledge of the area, hunting experience and patience in the search. With such a hunt, special care is also needed. The boar in a dream does not hear well, his sleep is deep. But with an unexpected awakening by a stranger or a hunter, he can swiftly go on the attack. It is necessary to approach the beds not only covertly against the wind, but also against the sun's rays, which make any movement in the mosaic of light and shadow noticeable. The best weather for such hunts is cloudy and mild. At this time, there is no sun glare, the animals are calm, and the noise of footsteps on the wet grass is not heard.

And although this type of hunting is carried out in the daytime, the best solution Is a partner or a dog. Only an experienced hunter can hunt wild boar. It is better for a beginner to try his hand at another type of hunting in order to overcome the psychological barrier and acquire the necessary experience. And yet, this hunting method develops the best hunting qualities - attentiveness, patience, endurance. An older friend will always tell you how to hunt a wild boar, you should not experiment yourself in such a serious matter. The guaranteed success of running hunts largely depends on an exhaustive knowledge of the area; you cannot do without a huntsman.

Hunting features, weapons and shooting methods

Boar - license view, to hunt him, you need to purchase a special permit, as well as a permit to a certain hunting farm. Weapons - large calibers smoothbore weapons or rifled barrels. Bullets are semi-sheathed and expansive. Hunting automatic carbines based on military weapons have proven themselves well. It is always necessary to have a hunting dagger and be able to use it.

The very method of approach should provide for the readiness to fire at any moment. It is better to stop near natural large obstacles, behind which you can step back when the animal responds. The slaughter place of the wild boar is the spine, the front shoulder blades (this is the zone of vital organs), the brain... But it is always desirable to make a shot along the profile of the beast. Shooting a beast running at the hunter in the forehead is futile - there is a high probability of missing it. If the shot is unsuccessful, it is correct to move away from the trajectory of the beast's attack. After that, it becomes possible to fire again, or the beast will leave. In the habits of the wild boar, there is no desire to necessarily get the offender, like a bear.

It should be remembered that the wild boar is a very strong and wounded animal. After a lethal shot, do not rush to approach, you should make sure that the prey is ready. A control shot behind the ear is desirable. The fact that the animal is hiding will be prompted by the ears pressed, the raised hair on the withers, the compressed legs. The killed boar is relaxed. An immutable rule for wild boars, like any animal hunt, is that a wounded animal must be picked up. The inadmissibility of wounded animals in the case of a wild boar increases many times over. When conducting a collective hunt, all known rules must be followed. When hunting, a senior is always appointed, who assigns roles, sets the direction of movement and sectors of shots.

The dwelling of a female wild boar preparing for the “addition to the family” is being arranged much more carefully. Such a bed is better insulated so that the newly born piglet does not die of hypothermia, and has a roof over its head, which protects the offspring from possible precipitation and other weather fads.

It should be noted that the wild boar, in fact, is not a very family animal; it is very rare to meet a pig with piglets. As a rule, wild boars prefer to live separately, their maternal and paternal instincts are not too developed. The offspring of boars spends at least two weeks with their parents, then they are considered ready to go out into an independent adult life. However, despite the absence of sufficiently close family ties, wild boars always adhere to a herd lifestyle, so they make all migrations and transitions in a large company. Especially the number of the herd increases when it comes time for the uterus with the cubs to join the group of males. Thus, in just one season, the number of individuals in a herd can increase 7-8 times!

Surprisingly it sounds, but the wild "pig" is much cleaner than her domestic, tamed brethren. Not far from the wild boar's residence, you can always find a so-called bathhouse - a small hole full of water and mud. Without such baths, no wild boar will be able to live in hot, sultry summers or during moulting. If you pay attention, you can see on the stones and trees standing nearby, scraps of wool left by a wild boar. Since these animals are deprived of the opportunity to lick themselves or scratch themselves, they have to rub against everything around.

In fact, the boar cannot be considered an empty-headed and absurd creature, believing that his activities do not bring any benefit. This point of view is fundamentally mistaken, because people who are in close contact with wild boars and study their habits, notice that the role of the boar in the life of the forest is enormous, and has not yet been fully appreciated. For example, none of us thought about what would happen if wild pigs suddenly stopped loosening the soil in the process of finding food. But this is the only way the seeds of various plants, falling on already plowed land, can have a chance to grow into full-fledged trees. And since one wild boar can loosen huge tracts of land, then with the seemingly low population density of these animals in a certain area, they together make an invaluable contribution to the renewal of our forests. Moreover, the wild boar can indirectly influence the composition of the forest.
Thus, with a lack of food and too high concentration of these animals, they are forced to loosen the same piece of land several times, which leads to a gradual replacement of oak forests with birch or coniferous ones.

Since an integral part of the diet wild boars are beetles and larvae, then these formidable animals can rightfully be called ardent pest fighters. By eating only the larvae of the May beetle, the wild boar can reduce their number by 3 times. But these wild pigs are able to maintain balance and balance in the animal community, suppressing the seasonal growth of the population of various insects. It's a pity that you can't bring such a worker to your garden, and not only because of his hot temper, but also because they are also able, together with pests, to destroy all your reserves for the winter, starting from potatoes and cereals , ending with tidbits of melons and watermelons. However, if you yourself do not invite wild boars to your site, then you should not be particularly afraid of their invasion. Of course, they can trample unfenced beds and taste some of your future harvest, but the damage done by their visit is usually grossly exaggerated.

This is a strong, quite active and fast animal. Average a wild boar reaches a weight of over 300 kg. and a height at the withers of more than 1 m. Boar habits Experienced hunters who go to hunt this large animal must know.
Wild boars usually prefer wetlands with thickets of reeds, reeds and other marsh vegetation. Wild boars swim well and easily overcome long distances in water and wetlands.
Fine boars feel in coniferous areas, in cedar forests. Where boars live near plantations and melons, in the fall, unfortunately, they cause great damage agriculture... Herd boars capable of destroying a huge area of ​​a corn field or melons overnight. Therefore, from a number of places there are numerous applications for the admission of shooting wild boars in the summer, as pests.
It should be noted that wild boars- clean animals. Wild pigs, as a rule, arrange their dwelling in dense reed thickets. V winter time it is sometimes covered with soft grass and leaves. In a dry area boars they dig a hole into which soft grass is also laid. They spend the day in this pit.
Wild pigs are herd animals, they sometimes huddle in large groups. However, mature males are most often kept apart. A wild boar loves to wallow in dug earth and swim in a puddle of mud to get rid of parasites.
With regard to dietary preferences, then boars omnivorous. They eat plant foods - mushrooms, berries, potatoes, corn, and a wide variety of animal foods, for example, insects and their larvae, snakes, eggs wild bird and chicks, carrion.
Wild pigs are extremely cautious, sensitive animals. If they have a highly developed hearing and smell, they can easily sense the presence of a person at a great distance, sometimes at 300-500 steps.
About the nature of the wild boar, we can say that these are not evil animals and are never the first to attack a person. However, if boar wounded, he can attack the hunter. Sometimes the jump cannot be avoided.
Appearance that have wild boars pretty impressive. Males have large tusks-tusks bent outward, which become even larger and sharper with age. With one blow boar instantly cuts the muscles on a person's leg to the bone.
Boars make sounds similar to the grunt of domestic pigs, and small pigs squeal and grunt.
Wild boar hunting includes several ways. Unlike bears, on wild boar almost all large yard dogs, shepherds and huskies go with great passion. Some hunters are on guard boars on the shores of lakes and canals, at those places where they go out to feed. Having determined the place where boars after feeding, the hunter, trying to give less footprints, makes an ambush, if the lake or channel is not wider than 40-50 m, on the other side opposite the feeding area where wild boars go.
Wild boar hunting in the mountains it can be carried out by concealing during their feeding at dawn. Having spotted the animals through binoculars, a hunter armed with a rifle, preferably with a telescopic sight, carefully, without making noise, conceals them from the wind, preferably from a mountain, all the time carefully watching the behavior of the animals, and, taking aim, shoots.
For boar hunting, except for hunting in the mountains with skrad, an ordinary double-barreled hunting rifle will do. Cleaver cartridges must be loaded with strong charges of smokeless powder.
Wild boar hunting implies that it is quite possible to meet with the old boar, who often, being wounded, rushes at the hunter. You can save yourself from the boar's sharp fangs if at the last moment, when the animal is five to six steps away from you, quickly jump to the side. If the hunter is chasing the wounded wild boar, he must constantly be ready for the attack of an angry cleaver, which often lurks to rush at the hunter. To the killed large boar it is impossible to approach from the head, because if the animal is still alive, it can rush at an unwary hunter.


Features of the morphology and behavior of the wild boar

The wild boar is a relatively large, undersized, massive animal.

The wild boar differs from the domestic pig in a flatter body shape, strong, rather long legs and a large, sharply elongated head shape. The ears are large and covered with long coarse hair.

In autumn, spring and winter, the body of the animal is covered with bristles, especially hard and long (12-13 cm) on the ridge, where it forms a mane. There is a thick and soft underfur under the bristles. Due to the dense underfur, the legs do not get wet, so the wild boar willingly goes into the water in summer and winter, it is protected from hypothermia in the water by subcutaneous fat deposition (Kharchenko N.N., 2002).

When moving, the boar rests not only on the two middle, but also on the first and fourth fingers, and traces from them remain on solid ground. On soft ground, all four fingers move apart to increase the footprint. The boar's hooves are larger than those of other ungulates, are very mobile and widely spaced, They leave prints on both sides of the hoof, and not on the back like in deer. In piglets, in the first months of life, the lateral fingers are not a support and do not leave traces.

The stride of a wild boar is shorter than that of an elk calf, and the hoof print is twice as large. The length of the track of the front limb of the cleaver boar reaches 15 - 18 cm, the same distance between the extreme toes. The step of an adult animal with slow movement is about 40 - 50 cm.

Separate traces of the wild boar are waddled, herringbone. This is due to the fact that the animal spreads its legs wide. When trotting, the distance between the prints increases to 90 cm and they stretch almost in a straight line. When moving at a pace or at a trot, the animal puts its hind legs in the trail of the front ones. And with a fast run - at a gallop or in a quarry, it brings them over the front, and their prints are not located side by side, but somewhat obliquely to each other.

The jumps of a wild boar, with fast movement, can reach 1.5 - 2 m.

In winter, due to the fact that the boar has short legs, it drags them and plows a deep furrow in the snow. Even with a snow depth of 30 - 40 cm, herds of wild boars tend to move in single file or use their old tracks. In deep snow, wild boars move slowly, and in places of feeding in the thickness of the snow they break through whole trenches (Ryabukha V.A., Salchenko V.L., Kiskichev V.V. 1998).

Wild boars swim well and easily overcome considerable distances in water and wetlands. This is facilitated by the fact that the legs of wild boars have relatively mobile middle toes and a well-defined additional support area in the form of the rear part of the sole and hooves of the lateral toes, due to which the animal easily moves on marshy soft ground and shallow snow. Soft pads of hooves ensure silent movement of the boar, even through littered forest. The limiting factor for the movement of wild boar in winter conditions is the height of the snow cover, exceeding 30-40 cm. The crust is also fatal for the boar and the crust with which animals injure the legs.

Boars are extremely cautious animals. With relatively weak eyesight, they have a highly developed sense of smell and hearing, and they catch the presence of a person at a fairly large distance, sometimes three hundred to five hundred meters. (Akimushkin I.I. 1998).

Males have large, outward curved canines - tusks, which gradually become longer and sharper with age. Boars are adept at using this formidable weapon both in defense and in attack. With one blow, the cleaver instantly cuts the muscles on a person's leg to the bone. A careless, overly brave dog flies off to the side with the entrails released from the blow of the wild boar.

The boar makes sounds similar to the grunting of domestic pigs. The piglets squeal and grunt. The female, if she does not notice the danger, leading the herd to feed, also grunts busily.

The head of the wild boar ends with a snout adapted for digging the soil; its blunt patch is bordered by a hard leather projection, seated with short, poorly visible tactile bristles. A special musculature approaches the patch, ending in a bundle of tendons, moving it in various planes.

The greater mobility of the patch is achieved by the prenasal bone embedded in its base, into which it rests when moving.

The strength of the boar's neck muscles is very great. It freely picks up with a snout and breaks frozen layers of earth 7-9 cm thick, easily rakes the exposed pebbles of coastal shoals to a depth of 25-30 cm and sometimes turns up stones weighing up to 40 kg in search of food (Dezhkin V.V. 1983).

The tail is short 25 cm, not curled. When the animal is calm and digs in the soil, the tail is always in motion, lowered down, while running, the boar holds the tail horizontally or lifts it up.

The size and weight of the Ussuri boars vary widely depending on gender, age and body condition. Currently, due to intensive hunting, large wild boars have become a rarity.

The average weight of wild boars is approximately 65-75 kg in young animals and 150-200 kg in adult animals. The average body length in adult animals is 125-175 cm, the height is 80-100 cm.

A noticeable change in the Ussuri subspecies consists in a weakly pronounced difference in the exterior of individuals of different sexes, especially at the age of up to two years. When looking at wild boars in a herd, it is sometimes impossible to distinguish young boars from pigs. Only from the age of three, males in size, conformation and shape of canines begin to stand out noticeably among males.

The hair color of the Ussuri boars is distinguished by great age and individual variability. In newborn piglets, alternating reddish-brown and light stripes are well pronounced, elongated along the shoulders, back and on the sides - 6 light and 7 dark. The forehead and muzzle are reddish with a black awn. The area around the eyes, the lateral parts of the body, above the shoulder blades, the front of the legs, as well as the hams are somewhat lighter.

The hair of piglets up to one month old consists of a short awn and sparse down. From the age of 1-1.5 months, the color and nature of the hairline begins to change. By the end of August (at the 4th-5th month), the piglets have finished the growth of a new hairline, consisting of black-brown awn and dirty gray fluff. (Abramov K.G., 1963).

For coloring the skin of an adult wild boar in autumn plumage, a black-brown general tone is most typical. The muzzle is covered with a black - brown awn with dark - brown down. The forehead, back of the body and chest are covered with sparse, dirty - white hair with a dirty ocher underfur. On the sides of the neck, on the shoulder blades, in the front parts of the legs, the spine is almost black. The sides of the body and the front surface of the hind legs are somewhat paler. The awn, starting from the withers and further along the entire ridge, up to the root of the tail, is strongly cut on the skin and therefore has a lighter color. The tail is the same color as the back, it has black thread at the end and lighter hair at the root on the underside. This is the typical coloration of an adult.

In rare cases, among the Ussuri boars, there are partially albinos with white hair or individuals with a completely white back part of the body.

Boar hair is of two categories: awn (bristles) or guides of a brown or ocher-brown color, usually dissected at the apex, and gray curly down.

Once a year (in spring), wild boars undergo a complete molt. The first signs of molting begin in April. At this time, bunches of downy and partly guard hairs begin to adhere to resinous trees, about which the boars partly itch. In the last decade of July, wild boars are almost completely freed from downy hair. Old guard hairs also thin out strongly during July. At this time, a young black undergrowth appears on the front of the head, near the ears and on the legs.

In July and August, wild boars in a new awn turn black-brown with a gray bloom. By the end of August, downy hair begins to grow. Only by the first October frosts do the boars finally dress up in winter hair, which warms them well on windy frosty days (Kozlov P.A. 1975).

In appearance, three age groups can be distinguished: piglets (fingerlings), gilts (two years old) and adults (Vereshchagin V.G. 1979).

Piglets are smaller, lighter in color than adults (light color lasts up to a year) and longer legs. Piglets have 13 stripes on the sides - 6 light and 7 dark.

In pigs, the withers develop, the bristles grow along the back. Adult animals are more massive than pigs, the bristles grow more strongly on the back. The difference is especially pronounced in the case of the cleavers.

In the field, it is not difficult to distinguish an adult male from a pig, and not only because the burgers have long curving canines, but rather by their silhouette. Males are distinguished by a larger head, a massive front part of the body, they have a more developed withers and a more typical mane along the crest of the back. In males, the trunk is flattened from the sides, and in females it is barrel-shaped (Cherkasov A., 1884). Within the boundaries of the site of relatively permanent habitat of the wild boar, its roost is located. In summer, animals lie down directly on the ground, only raking the bedding or stones. In winter, the animals lay down in the forest under the sewn tops of trees or in the thicket of young growth. A lying place is a depression in the snow with coiled rags of needles, moss, branches. In winter, wild boars are often used for laying hay or straw. Gaino - the female's den before farrowing, in which newborn boars spend the first two weeks of life, has thick walls, soft bedding and, as a rule, a cover made of twigs and dry grass.

On the boar habitat, there are always baths, which are deep pits filled with water and mud. Boars especially intensively bathe in them in the heat, before molting and during the rut. Boars are clean animals, they never defecate near their nest-den. Boars are herd animals, sometimes they stray into large groups, which are usually headed by old females. Old males-boars most often keep one by one and mate with females, as a rule, only for the period of rut, while they expel young boars from such family groups. In nature, the wild boar lives for 10-12 years, in captivity it can live up to 20 years. Animals can very quickly get used to humans and become tame (Bobrinsky N.A. 1965).

Nutrition

Given the tendency of the wild boar to be omnivorous, it is rather difficult to determine the species composition of its food, but it is undoubtedly very diverse. Forage reserves depend on the nature and diversity of biotopes. Wild boar feeds are divided into the following groups:

Rhizomes, roots, tubers and bulbs of various plants, which are high in nutrients and are harvested by animals throughout the year; make up from 18 to 90 percent of the mass of other feed. Potatoes and other agricultural crops occupy an important place in this group.

Vegetative, aerial green parts herbaceous plants, eaten during the growing season, mainly in spring, and bark, branches, shoots and rags are often used as forced feed in winter.

Fruits and berries, acorns and nuts, seeds are used by the boar after they are ripe, and in case of a good harvest, gets them out of the snow in winter. The well-being of the Ussuri wild boar is determined by the harvest of Mongolian oak and Manchurian walnut. In late summer and autumn, these feeds can account for up to 98 percent of the mass of all others. In productive years, it is this group of feed that contributes to a sharp increase in the number of the animal.

Animal feed, it is earthworms, insects and their larvae, molluscs, bird eggs, as well as vertebrates (including dead animals) - serve as food for wild boars more often in the warm season. The diversity of this group of feeds can vary greatly (Korytkin S. A. 1986).

The diet of the wild boar depends on the availability, abundance and availability of feed. Consistently and evenly used all year round the wild boar has no forage.

Digging is a very common way of obtaining food for the wild boar. It obtains about two-thirds of its feed from the soil and forest litter, in large quantities destroying the larvae of the May beetle, pine moth and other forest pests, and contributes to its preservation and restoration.

From late winter to early spring, wild boars pick out a small amount of sedge from under the snow, which remains green. In July, all sedges quickly become coarse, their nutritional value decreases, and they are not consumed by wild boars at all.

In winter, wild boars feed mainly on horsetail, eating sugary juice from its stems. In horsetails in the cold, a lot of soluble carbohydrates are formed, since at low temperatures in its stems, the inversion of carbohydrates into sugar occurs. Therefore, wild boars eat it very willingly in the cold season.

In winter, wild boars go out to feed at 10-11 am and feed until 5-6 pm. They spend a long frosty night in their gains under a heap of dry plants, huddled closely to each other, and in the afternoon, when it gets warmer, they go out in search of food. They try to move where the snow cover is less deep, under a canopy of dense thickets, where there is no crust, usually in the second half of winter.

In summer, wild boars go out to feed closer to dusk and go to shelters by the onset of the day. And until the sun rises above the horizon, the morning earth keeps the traces of the beast, which has already taken refuge in the forest.

On feeding, the herd of wild boars moves in bulk. In the forest, a herd of animals is stirring up the forest floor, looking for acorns, nuts, insects, plant roots. For one feeding, the wild boar eats 2-3 kg of various food. No land animal has such an effect on the soil and vegetation cover of forests and meadows as wild boars, they turn over a huge mass of surface food (Matveev A.S., 2002).

In the years of complete lack of forage and the harvest of nuts and acorns, wild boars, having destroyed all forage in the valley of rivers and springs by the end of October, begin to harm agricultural plants in the nearby fields (corn, potatoes, etc.). Boars are especially eager to spoil corn fields and are capable of making up to 0.15 hectares of corn completely unusable in one night. They break out the lowest cobs and felled the stems, trampling them into the ground. The ears of wild boar do not eat everything, but choose the juicy ones that have reached milk ripeness. Not eaten ears, thrown on the ground, become the property of mice, voles and begin to sprout after rain.

Boars enter oat crops during its ripening period, digging along the way in the ground in search of worms and insect larvae. By grabbing the panicle and sucking the juice out of it, they destroy large areas of crops.

Less wild boars spoil soybeans, which ripen simultaneously with the appearance of natural forages - acorns and nuts. Having climbed into a potato field, a small herd of wild boars of 8-10 heads in 3-4 nights are able to destroy up to 0.02 hectares of this crop.

Wild boars do not visit dry and sour salt licks to satisfy their mineral hunger. Sour salt licks wild boars visit only in hot summer days for bathing in muddy shores (Burtsev P.V. 2006).

Reproduction

There is a dependence of the rutting time on the amount and calorie content of natural forages and the nature of the formed snow cover. The earliest start date of the rut is November 15, the latest is December 15. An earlier start of the rut and, accordingly, the females' looseness are unfavorable for the wild boar population: in this case, farrowing takes place in heavy snow and the cold season, from which part of the offspring, especially in young females, perishes.

Males look for herds with females, roam widely and feed little. A cleaver boar searches for a herd of pigs by traces, guided by smell and sound. From the herds, the males drive out the pigs and, pursuing the females, chase them in a circle. The cleavers enter into a fierce fight with their rivals and by the end of the rut are often severely wounded, exhausted, losing up to 20% in weight. Boars are characterized by limited polygamy, since there are usually 1-3 females per male.

A wild boar that has failed in a duel, often wounded, keeps away from the herd, waiting for the healing of wounds, or leaves to look for a new herd. During the rut, the beast is very irritable and rushes through the thickets at any suspicious rustle, suggesting that it will meet an opponent.

If the forces are not equal, then the fight does not last long and ends with the flight of a weak opponent, but if the forces of the cleavers are approximately the same, then the fight can be fierce and often leads to the death of one of them (Bannikov A.G., Uspensky S.M. 1973 ).

At the time of the rut, the boars do not eat much. They move all the time, urging on the females and partly depriving them of normal food. For this reason, females lose a lot of weight, even with an abundance of natural food. In the herd, protected by a cleaver, most often there are 5-6 adult females, however, where the population density of the species is high, there may be much more of them. Pigs of different ages do not come into heat at the same time: first, adult, well-fed females are ready for mating, then young females. Therefore, the rutting period and, accordingly, the time of birth of piglets is strongly extended (Danilkin A.A. 2002).

Females, as a rule, first take part in the rut in the second year of life, at the age of 18-20 months, and males in the fourth or fifth year. The duration of pregnancy is 124 - 140 days, an average of 130 days; in females breeding for the first time, it is shorter than in old pigs.

Before farrowing, the pigs leave the herd for a quiet shelter, where they prepare the birthing nest. Pigs from the previous litter accompany the mother to the nest site, but do not approach it. Young females under the age of two years, when building a gayna for the first farrowing, clear snow and leaf litter; in the resulting depression, they loosen the ground and forest dust in an area corresponding to their body size. The place prepared in this way is covered with a roof consisting of 15-20 branches of fir, spruce, cedar or hazel. Old females under the age of 5 years build gayno skillfully: they fundamentally lay it on top with a heap of fern or dry grass. To do this, in a radius of 3-4 meters around the gayna, they have, at a height of 15-20 cm from the ground, all hazel bushes, young trunks conifers 1-1.5 cm in diameter.Large and strong females even break completely small trees 2-3 cm thick, pulling everything to the roof of the hein. Gaino is approximately 2X1.5 m with a canopy of 90-100 cm.

Gaino with a roof is a very important adaptation during the breeding season of wild boars. It saves piglets from a possible attack of black ravens that pecked at them the umbilical cord in the first days after childbirth, sheltering the young from possible rain and snow, from excessive sunlight, and also warms them at the time of the absence of the female to search for food.

Pigs are farmed from March to May. The number of piglets born in one pig is different and, undoubtedly, depends on the age of the female. Young individuals up to two years of age often bring 4-5 piglets, older individuals up to 3 piglets, but small in size. The total fertility of the herd depends on the age of the individuals entering breeding: the younger the age composition of the herd, the smaller the total offspring. This provision is important for hunters and leaders to know. hunting grounds, because by shooting young individuals and leaving mature ones, you can contribute to the growth of the wild boar population.

Piglets are born mobile and sighted, well pubescent, striped on a brown background of wool, light stripes about 2 cm wide stretch along the sides and back.

Pigs are very caring mothers, they boldly protect their young and in the first month are very aggressive - they boldly rush to meet any animal or person who dares to approach the brood by more than 30-40 m.In the herd, each pig protects any pig as his own. By the fall, the instinct to protect the cubs weakens.

Having finally separated from the uterus, the piglets continue to walk in a group until they are dispersed by wolves, stray dogs or a person (Korytin S.A. 1976).

Adverse conditions, diseases, competitors and enemies

Pork lice are found on wild boars in small numbers in autumn, winter and spring at a time when the animals are in close contact with each other, resting in common family heinas or using old beds. In the years of famine, poor harvests of Mongolian oak acorns and hazelnuts, lice are found in 80% of wild boars, crawling into the hair on parts of the body warmed up by the animal (groin, chest, etc.), where the bristles are less coarse.

All newborn piglets are evenly covered with lice acquired from the queens during feeding. Numerous appearances on the body of lice are easily tolerated by adult boars, and only piglets up to a month old are often forced to scratch their chest and belly against tree trunks, because in their delicate hairline with thin skin, lice receive the most favorable conditions for rapid reproduction.

Various diseases have a significant impact on the number of wild boars. Vigorously digging in the ground and using as food numerous soil invertebrates - worms, larvae, pupae, etc., wild boars are easily infected with various helminths. The most common infections are metastrongylosis, when a large number of earthworms, which are intermediate hosts of helminths, participate in their diet. Metostrongylosis larvae develop in the bronchi, they destroy the walls of the bronchus, cause coughing, exhaustion of animals. Infected animals become sedentary, their bristles are disheveled, the piglets have the appearance of withers (Novikov G.A., 1980).

Ascariasis is a helminthic disease, the causative agent in the wild boar is the pork roundworm. Roundworms are especially dangerous for 2-6 month old piglets, the disease is accompanied by progressive exhaustion and underdevelopment. Cysticercosis - causes significant losses due to liver disease and serous membranes, wild boars develop poorly, heavily infected piglets become seriously ill and die.

Among the infectious diseases of the wild boar are swine fever, foot and mouth disease, anthrax, tuberculosis, tularemia. But these diseases appear sporadically - once every 5-6 years.

In such years, the remains of wild boars can often be found in the forests, partially eaten by wolves, foxes and birds of prey, and in some cases entire families were found.

During the years of the epidemic, mainly individuals of younger ages up to two years old die, therefore, during the hunt for wild boar, individuals of only three years and older often fall.

The disease is spread by wild boars themselves, by predators and dogs picking up the remains of carrion, and by a person who sometimes makes taiga shoes from the raw skin of dead boars, with which the infection unconsciously spreads the infection over long distances along forest paths. For this reason, infectious foci quickly spread along roads and paths (Kozlov P.G. 1975). The predators of destroying wild boars include the brown bear and the wolf. Wolves successfully hunt wild boars if the herd consists of young animals, or if it is weakened by unfavorable environmental conditions.

Most often, wolves attack at the moments of ice formation, i.e. at the end of December and then in early spring when a strong infusion appears. Wolves pursue their prey by rutting in various parts of difficult terrain, trying to separate the pig or piglet from the herd and drive it to a place convenient for fishing.

The deaths of piglets and adult wild boars from brown bears of the connecting rods, which failed to accumulate the required fat reserve for a normal winter sleep... Such bears, appearing in any area of ​​residence of a family of pigs, almost completely destroy first piglets, and then adults. Therefore, the brown bear connecting rod in modern conditions is a more dangerous enemy for wild boars. But connecting rods do not appear every year, but only with poor harvests. pine nuts and acorns. The role of the fox in the destruction of piglets is insignificant, in early spring the piglets are boldly protected by the female, and the fox is no longer able to take three-month-old piglets. Therefore, the main predators, noticeably accompanying the livestock of wild boars, should be recognized as wolves and bears.



Wild boar is an omnivorous animal, its diet depends on habitat, availability and availability of food. This animal does not have constant feed used throughout the year. Where does this animal live? Is there a difference in what wild boar eats in nature and at home? We will answer these questions in this article.

Where does the boar live?

These animals first appeared in the countries of Asia and North Africa. Later they settled on the islands of Sumatra, Java and many others. Today, wild boars are common from the Atlantic to The Pacific including North Africa, East, Southern Europe, as well as Average, Central Asia north of the Himalayas.

Previously, the area was much wider. In addition to the British Isles, it included the south of Scandinavia, where today the wild boar is exterminated. In our country, it is common in the forests of Siberia, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in several districts of the Irkutsk Region. Small populations were recorded in the Moscow region. The habitat of the beast is mountainous, rainforests with high humidity. In Russia, these powerful animals have chosen swampy areas and oak forests.

Wild boar: description and habits

The powerful animal has a wedge-shaped body, which helps the animal to overcome dense thickets, leaving the victim, pursued by him, not the slightest chance of salvation. The length of the body of a wild boar can reach 180 cm, and the height at the withers is about 110 cm, with a weight of almost three centners, although individuals weighing 150 kg are more common.

The male is always larger and heavier than the female. Interestingly, with such an impressive size, the animal can reach speeds of up to 45 km per hour.

Head

The elongated front of the skull with a powerful upper jaw allows the animal to dig in the ground for food. The nose part ends with a powerful snout-snout, on which the main work of loosening the soil falls. It has a very rigid edging, which helps to find food.

The boar has 44 teeth: 12 incisors, 28 molars and 4 canines. With strong teeth, the animal grabs prey, holds and chews it. They easily succumb to nuts, rhizomes, bones - everything that wild boars eat. Special attention boar tusks deserve. In mature individuals, they reach a length of 25 cm. With their help, the animal searches for food, digging up the soil for the extraction of plant roots. In addition, they are used to defend against wolves and bears.

Interestingly, canines begin to develop in piglets in the womb and in newborn piglets they are ready to perform their function.

Limbs

Well developed, muscular, ending with hooves. The front legs are more developed, they serve not only for movement, but also for digging the soil. The height of the limbs allows the overweight animal to jump over high obstacles and even jump in length.

Coat

The coat is very coarse and resembles stubble. The color can range from brown to dark gray. In winter it becomes very dense with a dense undercoat.

Lifestyle

This animal does not see very well, but its sense of smell is well developed. He feels the smell of a person at a distance of four hundred meters. Pungent odors often scare the animal away and disrupt the hunt.

Basically, wild boars live in herds. They include females with the offspring of the previous year. An adult boar leaves it and lives alone. He comes to the herd during the mating period, and at this time takes on the role of leader. Wild boars are active at night, when they go out to get food and take water procedures.

During the day, he usually rests in the swamps or in the reeds, hiding in the bushes. The habits of the wild boar are quite interesting. Animals are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. To avoid sunburn and to protect themselves from insect bites, they thoroughly smear mud all over their bodies. This is probably why an important condition for their comfortable living is the presence of a reservoir near the rookery.

Boars try to keep a respectful distance from people. They rarely come close to settlements, but regularly make forays into fields where corn or oats grows. The habits of the wild boar do not change in winter either. He does not move much, since it is difficult for him to move in deep snow.

Wild boar: nutrition (feed, food)

All food of this animal can be divided into four groups:

  • fruits, nuts, seeds and berries;
  • underground parts of plants;
  • vegetative parts of plants (aboveground);
  • animal feed (insects and their larvae, earthworms, fish and molluscs, rodents and birds, carrion and frogs).

It should be noted that everything that wild boars eat in nature can be divided into seasonal groups and species composition. The animal finds most of the food (underground parts of plants, animal food) not on the surface, but in the soil. Three and a half times more wild boar eats underground food than ground food.

The wild boar feeds on whatever comes along the way. He is endowed with a good memory, and therefore can return to the places where he ate the most satisfying. This animal is omnivorous. Answering the question of what wild boars eat in nature, it can be stated that everything that the animal finds, that nature gives it in a certain period, is used for food.

The diet of wild boars depends on a number of factors:

  • habitat;
  • the growth of certain plants;
  • the range of insects and animals that can become prey;
  • availability of feed;
  • time of the year.

Spring food

The wild boar, emaciated and emaciated during the long winter, is ready to eat everything, down to the bark of young trees. But the sun is warming up more and more intensely, the snow is melting, living inhabitants appear in the forest. What does the wild boar eat during this period? If you can catch small vertebrates, the boar will be full for several days. Sometimes you have to dig the thawed earth to find the rhizomes of dandelion, mountaineer, gravilat. In addition, last year's nuts and acorns can be found on the surface. Insects wake up, which also diversify the diet.

With the appearance of greenery, the wild boar eats stinging nettle, sow thistle, gravilat with appetite. The animal finds larvae in secluded places, which were laid by insects last year. At the end of spring, birds begin to build nests. If they are within reach, then both the eggs and the birds themselves become the prey of wild boars.

Summer diet

This is the most satisfying time for these powerful animals. It is not hard to guess what wild boars eat during this period. Delicate shoots of plants, fruits and berries, leaves and seeds - everything that has matured by this time, and that which is still gathering juices and coming out to the surface of the earth, everything falls into the mouth of a wild boar. They eat wild boars and small vertebrates: hedgehogs and mice, frogs, as well as invertebrates - insect larvae, earthworms. If the hare did not manage to escape from the boar in time, then it can also become a supper for the beast.

Abundance of forage in autumn

Acorns and nuts are a favorite treat for wild boars. These fruits contain a large number of fat and protein, which allows the animal to fill up quickly. Boars feel especially comfortable in autumn in oak forests. By the fall, numerous rodents with offspring appear. They become easy prey for wild boars.

Often, in search of food, these animals visit the gardens of summer residents and villagers. At this time, they become a real disaster, destroying vegetable gardens. Root crops and cabbage, as well as their tops, worms, which are in abundance in the garden soil, the family of wild boars destroys without a trace.

Winter food

In winter, a good instinct helps the beast. Sometimes a mouse jumps in the snow, sometimes a bird freezes, and it goes to dinner. Having an excellent memory, wild boars return to oaks and walnut trees, tearing up snow and looking for fallen fruits. Horsetail, which wild boars do not eat in summer, becomes a great help in winter. Frost converts simple carbohydrates into sugars and horsetail becomes sweet.

These animals do not disdain the remnants of someone else's feast. Animal bones, carrion - everything goes to satisfy hunger. Only the strongest and most resilient animals survive the winter. In the spring, the livestock is noticeably reduced.

Eating at home

You need to know, in order to breed wild boars, you need to know what these animals eat at home. For this, animal and plant foods are suitable: young individuals are happy to eat cereals from mixtures of cereals, boiled and fresh root crops.

And to enrich the diet, the boars should be given milk, minced meat, chickens, and rodents. The volume of food per day should be at least six kilograms. Pamper wild pigs with acorns and nuts.