A wild boar is a powerful and fairly large animal, known to almost every person. Mammals appeared on our planet quite a long time ago and represent the ancestors of modern domestic animals.

Boars have a significant body weight and are considered quite dangerous to people. In this article we will look at these interesting animals and talk about the features of their lifestyle.

Description and features

Description of wild boar It’s worth starting by presenting its considerable volumes. The body length of animals varies from one and a half meters to 175 cm. The weight of the average animal is approximately 100 kg, although among wild boars it is not uncommon to weigh 150 or even 200 kilograms.

Thus, the size of such mammals is truly enormous. In addition, the height of animals can reach 1 meter, which, as a rule, is more than half the height of a person.

The appearance of these wild animals is nothing special. Their body is covered with rather coarse and hard hair. dark color: gray, brown or black. The coat of the ancestors of pigs is not pleasant to the touch and is somewhat reminiscent of hard household brushes.

Comparing a boar accustomed to life in wildlife, and a domestic pig, you can notice a huge difference between them. Wild boars spend their entire lives in the forest, so they are more adapted to such an environment.

Their fur reliably protects them from the cold, strong and long legs allow you to move quickly, taking long walks, the ears are rather large and point upward so that the animal can always sense danger.

The boar's nickel is not very sensitive, which allows the animal to loosen the soil and leaves without being injured

The snout patch is not particularly sensitive, so it is difficult to injure it while searching for food in the forest. What are the types? wild boars?

Types of wild boars

The boar family doesn't have much in common big number species. To date, only about 20 have been released. various types mammals. All these types are conventionally divided into Western, Eastern, Indian and Indonesian. Let's talk about some of them in more detail.

Central European

Representatives of this species are widespread in different countries Europe, as well as in the European part of Russia. Such wild boars can often be seen in zoos and nature reserves.

The Central European species is not distinguished by its enormous volumes. These animals are characterized by a small body length - approximately 130-140 cm. Their weight reaches average values ​​- about 100 kg.

These boars are not considered particularly dangerous to humans. In relation to those who care for them, they behave calmly and respectfully, and are distinguished by flexible behavior. However, such mammals should still be isolated from the public, since their natural aggression can manifest themselves at any time.

Central Asian

Most species big wild boars got their name precisely because of the distribution area of ​​​​the animals. Thus, representatives of the Central Asian subspecies live in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

The animals of Central Asia are larger in size than those of Central Europe. Their height is on average 150-160 cm, and their body weight can reach 120-130 kg.

The fur of Central Asian wild boars can be either light or dark in color. The most common is gray-brown hair. The fur of these animals is not very dense, which is explained by their constant residence in areas with a fairly hot climate. The animals have managed to adapt to this habitat, and they feel very comfortable in it.

Indian

Representatives of this species are included in not very large group Indian species. Animals are common in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and neighboring countries.

The peculiarity of Indian wild boars is that they are not afraid of people. They calmly, without fear, go out into the steppe regions and collect their favorite delicacies. Local residents are also not afraid of these animals and never behave aggressively.

The fur of representatives of the Indian species is light in color. This is due to the fairly warm climate and natural features terrain.

Despite the easy-going behavior of these wild boars, you should not threaten them or their cubs. These mammals, caring for their offspring, always retain their natural instincts and can cause significant harm to the guilty person.

Ussuri

The habitat of this species is a fairly vast area. Ussuri wild boars live on the territory, as well as on the lands of the Far Eastern region of Russia, near the Amur and Ussuri rivers. Sometimes this species is also called Far Eastern.

Representatives of this species are the largest of all existing ones. With a normal height of 170-18 cm, their body weight reaches 250-350 kg. Such impressive volumes make this boar potentially dangerous to anyone who crosses its path.

Hairline has a dark color, varying from gray-brown to black. Due to their size, these animals are extremely strong and resilient. They are able to travel long distances and pursue anyone who threatens their herd or their family.

Wild boar meat this species is highly valued by local residents, so about a quarter of total number representatives are exterminated annually by hunters and poachers.

Most major representatives This species is found precisely on the territory of Russia, in the Primorsky Territory.

Japanese

The Japanese wild boar lives in the territory, with the exception of some islands. Representatives of the species have large body sizes and dark thick fur.

From the outside, these animals look very massive, even huge. This idea is due significant amount fat, which they “eat” on purpose. Their rough, but at the same time, sensitive spot on their elongated snout allows them to get everything necessary products nutrition.

These mammals are calm and peaceful, so they are often kept in various zoos and nature reserves.

Habitat

The mammals we are considering, for the most part, are not on the verge of extinction. Only a few species, especially those suffering at the hands of local hunters, are considered rare. However, the entire genus of wild boar, as is known today, is not in danger of extinction.

For this reason, wild boars are distributed almost everywhere. As mentioned earlier, they are divided into four main groups depending on their habitats. The Western and Eastern groups are considered the most numerous.

Representatives of these species are distributed throughout most European and Asian states. They easily adapt to their habitat and learn to find food and safe place for life.

The most “poor” territories in terms of wild boars are considered to be Northern and South America, as well as Antarctica. There are special local species on American soil, but biologists do not classify them as part of the main classification of the genus.

Lifestyle

Boars are considered very thrifty and prudent animals that take care of themselves and their offspring in advance.

Mammals, as a rule, live in small groups, or herds, uniting from 10 to 40 individuals. The herd is headed by a female, and there may be several times fewer males in the group.

The greatest activity of animals occurs precisely in the spring-summer period. In winter, they move a little, trying to retain warmth and energy.

Wild boars They have very good eyesight and sense of smell. Thanks to their large erect ears, they hear perfectly. They can move through the forest silently, unnoticed by predators and humans. These mammals, despite their body mass, are excellent swimmers and can easily overcome long and difficult distances.

Nutrition

The ancestors of modern pigs, like the pigs themselves, are classified as omnivores. It is often possible to see photo of wild boars burrowing in the ground. This activity is indeed the main way of obtaining food for animals.

They “feel” the earth in search of food, make sure it is suitable for consumption, and only after that eat it. Often these mammals are even compared to humans due to the similarity of their diet to that of humans.

Boars mainly eat plant foods: seeds and fruits, various parts of plants, tree bark, and mushrooms. However, their diet includes small animals. These include insects, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles and even some mammals. Wild boars also often feed on the remains of dead animals.

It is considered interesting that wild boars are not afraid of poisoning from dangerous lizards and. When eating these animals, they do not pay attention to poisons. Indeed, substances that could be fatal to other living organisms pose absolutely no danger to wild pigs.

For these land-based mammals, it is vital to ensure that they do not have to suffer from starvation in the near future. Therefore in warm time, Vienna and summer, a wild boar« attacks" for food.

During this period of time, he is able to gain up to 10 kg every month. Later, when cold weather sets in, a significant layer of fat will prevent the animal from freezing and will also provide the necessary “reserve” nutrient.

These omnivores themselves often become victims of other mammals. They are often attacked by predators, from which it can be difficult for wild boars to escape.

Reproduction

As a rule, a female gives birth to five to seven cubs, which she carefully cares for. Pregnancy does not last long - no more than 5 months. The body weight of a newborn is only 1 kilogram. The cubs are born in mid-spring, sighted, with a striped coat color.

On the tenth day of life, piglets are able to cover considerable distances, following their parents. They also begin to eat vegetation and learn to get the most juicy and tasty food.

Already at the age of one year, small boars weigh more than 50 kg. Thus, in the first year of life they gain more than 20 kg per season. At the same age, they lose their special coloring, acquiring the dark hair of adult boars.

Having reached the age of one and a half years, the piglets leave " parents' house” and set off in search of a new home. They form new herds, learn to live independently and take care of each other.

Lifespan

On average, wild boars live in the wild for 10 to 15 years. Considering the fact that already at the age of one and a half years, piglets begin independent life, such a life expectancy is considerable.

The life of individual representatives of the genus can end even before 10 years. In their natural environment The animals' habitat is threatened by various predators, as well as people who are keen on hunting.

According to recent studies, for every 400 thousand individuals there are about 40 thousand animals killed by hunters and poachers. Hunting for these animals is worth talking about separately.

Wild boar hunting

Wild boar hunting It is considered an extremely profitable and exciting activity. Many people kill animals for their valuable and nutritious meat, thick and beautiful wool, or for no reason, to acquire a new hunting trophy. However, when hunting such mammals, you should pay attention to many nuances. What are the features of such an unsafe hobby?

First of all, it is worth saying that hunting such large animals is an extremely risky business. It poses a danger not only to animals, but also to the hunters themselves. The fact is that boars are very difficult to seriously injure.

If, for example, you get into the fatty layer in the abdominal area, you can cause only minor damage to the animal. However, even such damage will greatly anger the boar, and it will be capable of causing serious harm to the attacker.

Even if it hits other parts of the body, you can avoid hitting vital organs and only “drive the beast out of yourself.” Therefore, inexperienced hunters are not recommended to choose wild boar as their prey.

Also, these animals can attack hunters and not alone. Members of their herd often come to the aid of their comrades, even sacrificing own life.

Often people go hunting with their dogs. However, in this way they only endanger their assistants. Dogs, inferior to wild boars in body size and weight, are sometimes much more vulnerable than humans themselves.

Keeping at home

There are many people who are interested in wild boar breeding. It is impossible to keep such animals in apartments, but those who live in country houses, you can organize special rooms for them, like barns.

Such premises must be filled with dry grass for a comfortable overnight stay for the animals, as well as constantly adding tasty and healthy food to the wild boars.

The pen must be closed, since the wild boars are not accustomed to the direct influence of weather conditions on them. In their natural habitat, they shelter from sun, rain and snow in the grass or under the canopy of trees.

Typically, people keeping wild boars feed them 5 to 7 kg of food daily. Domesticated mammals eat various cereals and vegetables. Sometimes owners even prepare special porridges and grain stews for the animals.

For such animals, it will not be superfluous to add a certain amount of cooked meat or fish, as well as country sour cream and cottage cheese to the diet.

The ancestors of pigs, although considered wild animals, treat their owners very well. They love and respect the people who care for them, and are able to protect them in case of danger, as in the wild they would protect their family and their offspring.

So, in this article we looked at an unusual and very interesting genus of mammals - wild boars. Absolutely every person has seen such animals in zoos, and also has an idea of ​​​​the lifestyle of their direct descendants - domestic pigs.

Sometimes we don’t even think about how many animals die every year, not only to satisfy the natural needs of humanity, but also at the hands of ruthless hunters and poachers. Indeed, the statistics of countless murders are disappointing. Therefore, protecting wildlife is one of the most important tasks each of us.

In general, in Russia and adjacent territories the rut is extended and lasts from October to February. It is most intense in November-December, when up to 80% of females are covered. By the beginning of the rut, the preputial gland produces a thick yellowish liquid, which the males spray along the trails. Cleavers rub against tree trunks and make peculiar notches on them with blows of their fangs, which, together with the smell, serve to mark the territory and signal females and opponents about the location of the cleaver. Females also mark trees by rubbing their head glands and secreting salivary, lacrimal and other glands, in this way informing males that they are ready to mate.

Having found a herd of pigs with young animals, the male drives away the gilts and begins to pursue the females (most often in a circle). If another cleaver approaches the herd, which consists of 3-8 females, the owner enters into a fierce fight with him, filling the surrounding area with roars and squeals. The fight lasts 1-2 minutes, during which the males inflict serious wounds on each other’s bodies. The “skin shield, or Kalkan,” protects from wounds. During the mating period, males hardly eat and quickly lose weight, losing up to 20-25% of their weight.

The wild boar is a monocyclic species. In Western Europe, cases of the appearance of two broods per year have been noted. In Russia, the hunting period for females is in October-January, the duration of estrus is 2-3 days, the next one appears after 21-23 days. All members of a family group are covered at the same time, 1-8 days apart. Pregnancy lasts 114-140, on average 120 days.

Due to the extended rut, piglets are born between March and June. Occasionally, newborns are found in February and July-October. Pigs piglet in specially constructed nests made of grass, weeds and brushwood. At first, the nest has a roof and one entrance. Subsequently, the integrity of the nest is compromised. If the nest is poorly constructed, early broods often freeze to death.

The number of piglets is 3-12, usually 4-6; Young pigs have fewer piglets than older ones.

The size of the litter varies depending on the availability of food. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in the year following a good acorn harvest, the average number of piglets in a litter was 6.6, and in the year following a poor acorn harvest, it was only 2.9.

The weight of newborns is 500-900 g. Their coloring until 2-3 months of age is striped from alternating dark brown and light reddish-gray longitudinal stripes. In May, the weight of piglets is already 2-4.5 kg, in August 12-20 kg.

The lactation period lasts 2.5-3.5 months, but already at the age of one month the piglets begin to feed on their own. During the period of milk feeding, females with piglets again gather in herds and pigs experience “piglet communism”, when piglets, while grazing together with another litter, suck milk from other people’s mothers. Often it looks like a game, because this squealing and pushing striped horde of piglets from two or three litters at the same time can suckle for 20-30 seconds one female, and then another and a third, and they do not drive them away (at the same time, the females rummage muzzle in the ground in search of food).

The wild boar is a fairly large animal that can reach up to one and a half meters in length. Weight adult varies from 150 to 300 kilograms. The boar's bristly fur resembles the coloration of a bear with a slight reddish tint. Their distinctive feature can be called large lower fangs, the size of which can be about 25 centimeters. This dexterous and agile animal is capable of accelerating up to 40 km per hour, which makes it elusive for both wild animals and hunters. On top of that, the wild boar swims well and jumps at a distance of 3.5 meters.

The role of fangs

The main function performed by the fangs of a wild boar is defense and attack. The main threat to this animal may be a pack of wolves, hunters or a bear. When attacked, a boar is capable of inflicting lacerations thanks to its tusks. Everyone knows that the boar is an animal that people hunt with pleasure. You should know that this beast is not so stupid. There have been many cases when wild boars lured a person to the reeds using various tricks, after which they suddenly attacked. It is very difficult to escape from the fangs of an angry boar; they are deadly. When an animal is wounded, it becomes enraged and may attack in response. In such a wounded and enraged state, even the wolves do not touch him.

Wild boar habitats

The boar (wild boar) is a fairly common species that lives throughout Europe, Asia, America and other tropical places. This animal has taken root both in coniferous forests and deserts. The most favorite place for such wild boars is oak forests. Very often like this big boar found in the Caucasus and Transbaikalia near mountain rivers. The boar is a herd animal. Females are smaller in size than males and have a smaller habitat with piglets than a male. Its territory depends on the saturation of food in a particular place. These stray animals are capable of traveling several kilometers in one day in search of food.

Animal nutrition

The boar is an animal that eats quite varied. The boar's most favorite delicacies are:

• Bulbous plants.
• Various roots.
• Nuts, acorns, berries.
• Herbaceous plants.
• Frogs, lizards, snakes.
• Various insects.
• Bird eggs.

Wild boar offspring

An animal such as a boar (boar) is divided into 25 subspecies, for which characteristic features are a stocky body with a large head, wide ears and small eyes. All adults protect their herds. Each female is capable of producing approximately five piglets annually, each of which can weigh about half a kilogram after birth. Nature itself took care of the safety of the babies and painted them with stripes, which makes small wild boars less noticeable, unlike adult boars with a dark color. Since wild pigs most often unite in huge herds in the fall to protect their young, even wolves do not always decide to attack pig offspring.

Boar character

Most boars prefer to spend their day in gray, marshy areas, wallowing in holes. In case of danger, this huge boar is able to escape through thickets impenetrable to other animals, swim across a water obstacle, and, if necessary, attack. After all, everyone knows that best protection- this is an attack. The big boar tries to avoid meeting people, but there are often cases when hunters and dogs run into trouble themselves and they can find it. A pig's hearing is quite well developed, so for everyone's safety, feeding is done at night. The behavior of females should also be noted, because for the sake of their offspring they are ready to go into fire, into water, and even into an armed man, whom they will pursue to the last.

Precautionary measures

So as not to run into trouble once again For such a deadly animal as a boar, it is recommended to act as follows:

1. Be as careful as possible and do not come close to a flock of wild boars. It's best to leave before the person is spotted.
2. If you happen to stumble upon a piglet, you should keep in mind that the mother is definitely somewhere nearby.
3. If tracks of a boar are found, it is better to go in the other direction, away from this pig trail.
4. When a boar takes a person by surprise, there is no need to attack him. The best way out of this situation is to climb onto tall tree and hide for a while.

Hatching of offspring

Pregnancy of females can last about 120 days, after which they are temporarily separated from their herd to build a nest in some quiet place. The new “home” for the brood looks more like a hut made of branches. During this crucial period, the mother becomes as aggressive as possible, which allows her to reliably protect and protect her cubs. Unlike males, the female does not have huge, terrifying fangs, but this does not mean at all that she is not dangerous. When defending or attacking, she is capable of overpowering and trampling her victim to death. After the offspring grow up, all family members return to the herd.

Life in the wild

Nature provides for everything, but this does not mean at all that life in this world will be without difficulties and obstacles, even for wild boars. Without a doubt the tusks of the boar are powerful weapon and assistant during the entire period of their existence. But to predict weather, which significantly complicate their lives, is impossible. Snow makes it difficult for them to move, as a result of which the animals are able to overcome only one and a half kilometers, which threatens them with hunger and no fangs or speed of the animal will help with this.

The skin of a boar is quite thick, especially in the thigh area. Many hunters know this firsthand. An animal wounded in the thigh is worse than a healthy one, since such an angry animal is capable of fighting the offender to the last.

Everyone knows that the boar is an animal that emits a terrible roar that can put anyone into a stupor. When meeting an animal, you need to remember that it has an excellent sense of smell and hearing, but its vision is slightly impaired - this can be used in certain situations to save itself. In the wild, when this huge boar comes face to face with an opponent, he will never back down, no matter how many enemies surround him.

wild boar

The boar is an animal with a rather unusual appearance. Its body can be divided into two parts: back and front. From the front, the boar is huge and massive, with a smooth flowing body that tapers strongly at the back. That's why he looks slightly hunched over. The comb, which stretches along the entire back, gives aggressiveness. Upon reaching three years of age, the boar develops two pairs of powerful tusks. Females are very different in this matter from their partners. These weapons can become sharper and more dangerous over the years, since wild boars constantly sharpen them on stones and frozen ground. The wild boar is an animal that resembles a kind of tank, capable of making its way through even the most impenetrable thickets with lightning speed. This allows you to save your life if necessary. And the animal’s favorite pastime is mud baths.

The body of a boar is so dense and knitted that it more closely resembles a bristly shell, which not every hunter can pierce, but can easily irritate the beast. This animal is unusually strong and is capable of turning over huge stones and picking out ground frozen to 10 centimeters. Of course, meeting one-on-one with such a powerful killer as a boar is a sad story, but one should not give in to panic, even if the beast squeals and tries to intimidate a person. You must always soberly assess the situation. If you do not approach the animal and its cubs, do not provoke it, and do not get noticed, then problems can be avoided. As a last resort, it is recommended to climb the nearest tree - this is the only correct option.

The question of how long a domestic pig lives is difficult to answer unambiguously. Each livestock breeder has his own opinion on this matter. Domestic piglets are allotted by nature 10-15 years of carefree existence, but their life usually ends at the age of 1.5 years, when adult animals are sent for slaughter.

The question of how long a domestic pig lives is difficult to answer unambiguously.

There are many cases where pigs lived to old age. Representatives of the pot-bellied breed celebrated their 15th birthday, and some of their relatives lived up to 35 years. As you can see, the answer to the question of how long pigs live is not so easy to find. Weak animals can live less than 1 year. Farmers solve this problem by vaccinating against various quarantine diseases. Pets that live in normal conditions and receive various healthy supplements along with high-quality food will delight their owners with their existence for many years. But, as a rule, pigs are sent for slaughter at the age of 1.5 years, so it is difficult to understand how many years a pig lives in a household plot.

If you believe scientific research, the age of an adult female can reach 15-25 years. During this time, she is able to bear offspring 20 times. Males live longer - 35-45 years.

Wild pigs are luckier. They can live in the wild much longer than their counterparts. Their life expectancy is dictated by reality. Wild pigs can become prey to wolves or bears. In addition, they can be shot by hunters. An old wild boar or pig is rarely found in nature. But in zoos, animals live 2 times longer than in the wild. Under normal conditions and balanced diet average duration their lifespan is 25-30 years.

About feed and raising pigs for beginners (video)

Gallery: domestic pig (25 photos)

What determines the longevity of a pig?

The life expectancy of a pig is influenced by the following factors:

• nutrition;
• conditions of detention and hygiene;
• gender of the animal and its breed;

Any pig can live longer if it is provided with high-quality feed normal conditions content. The animal must be fed with concentrated feed, high-quality grain meal, fresh juicy grass and vegetables. Do not forget about premixes and various vitamin supplements.

For animals that live in a home barn, you need to prepare hay from your favorite plants and chopped grain for the winter. In order to maintain healthy bones and joints, you need to add minerals and calcium to the food. High-quality nutrition for pigs must be combined with favorable living conditions.

Let's consider the basic requirements that a pigsty must meet:

• good ventilation;
• purity;
• lack of dampness;
• regular change of litter.

A wild boar, or boar, or wild pig is a mammal from the order Artiodactyla, suborder Porciniformes (non-ruminant), family of pigs. Is an ancestor domestic pig. In mythology - “fearless beast”.

The wild boar is an omnivorous artiodactyl, non-ruminant mammal of the genus Sus. Differs from the domestic pig, which undoubtedly descended from the wild boar (and other related species), has a shorter and denser body, thicker and higher legs; in addition, the boar's head is longer and thinner, its ears are longer, sharper and, moreover, erect, sharp, its fangs are more developed and sharper: in the male they are much more developed than in the female. The stubble, except on the lower part of the neck and the back of the abdomen, forms something like a mane on the back. The bristles are black-brown with an admixture of yellowish, the undercoat is brownish-gray, due to this the overall color is gray-black-brown, the muzzle, tail, lower legs and hooves are black. Pied and piebald specimens are rare and are considered descendants of feral domestic pigs. Body length up to 2 m, tail 25 cm, shoulder height 95 cm; The weight of an adult wild boar can reach 150-200 kg.

A massive animal with short legs, a short body, its front part is more massive than the back, the back in the area of ​​the shoulder blades is strongly raised, the neck is thick and short, the head is wedge-shaped, the tail is thin and short. On the nose, the males have upper and lower fangs protruding from the mouth, and on the back there is a ridge of bristles that rises when the animal is excited. The color of the fur is from whitish to black, age-related changes are clearly visible - the piglets are brownish, with light yellowish stripes. Similar species in the area former USSR No. Geographical variability is very high; based on the variability of craniological characteristics, body size and coloring characteristics, more than 50 forms have been described, but 26-28 subspecies are recognized as real, of which 5 live on the territory of the former USSR.

Spreading

Wild boars are found in broadleaf and mixed forests mainland Central Europe (from the Atlantic to the Urals), the Mediterranean (including certain areas of North Africa, including the Atlas and Cyrenaica), steppe regions of Eurasia, Central Asia, in the northeast of Western Asia; in the north it reaches 50° N. sh., in the east to the Amur and the Himalayas; beyond these limits (in South Asia, South and Central Africa) it is replaced by related species. In ancient times, the wild boar's range was much wider than today. In Central Europe and the Middle East, it was previously found almost everywhere, but has now been exterminated in many places, as well as throughout England. It is believed that the ancestors of modern domestic pigs are wild boars of Mesopotamia and Europe. In Russia, the wild boar is found in large areas of the European part of Russia (except for the northeastern tundra and taiga regions), in the Caucasus, in Southern Siberia; in the Tien Shan it rises to 3300 m. North America European wild boars were introduced by humans as a hunting object and spread into the wild along with feral domestic pigs. In Australia, feral pigs have a lifestyle similar to wild boars.

Lifestyle

The wild boar lives in water-rich, swampy areas, both wooded and overgrown with reeds, bushes, etc. Old males live mostly alone and join the herds only during mating. Females usually form small herds of 10-30 females and cubs and young, weak males. Estrus occurs from November to January; Fierce fights occur between males at this time. Pregnancy lasts about 18 weeks, the number of piglets (normally born once a year) is 4-6 and sometimes 12; at first they are colored white, black-brown and yellow stripes, helping to camouflage in the forest floor. The female carefully guards the cubs and fiercely protects them from enemies. Wild boars reach sexual maturity at approximately 1.5 years of age and become adults at 5-6 years of age. The boar's movements are clumsy, but fast; it swims excellently and can swim considerable distances. Vision is poorly developed, but sense of smell and hearing are very good. Boars are cautious, but not cowardly; when irritated, injured or protecting their young, they are very brave and dangerous due to their strength and large fangs. Besides humans, the only dangers to wild boars, mainly young ones, are wolves and lynxes, and in South Asia tigers, which, however, rarely attack large old males. During the day, wild boars lie in a dug hole; sometimes a common lair is set up. In the evening they go out to swim and look for food, which consists mainly of vegetation (roots, fruits, acorns, etc.), but also includes various small animals and carrion. They can also visit fields of potatoes, turnips, and grains, causing harm agriculture, especially by tearing up and trampling crops. They often damage young trees. Very rarely, wild boars attack fairly large animals, sick or wounded, for example, fallow deer, roe deer, even deer, killing and eating them. Boar meat is tasty (which is why it was domesticated), and its skin and bristles are also useful.

The habitats are very diverse - from the dark coniferous taiga zone to deserts, in the mountains in all zones up to the Alpine. Limited polygamy. Leads a herd lifestyle all year round, herd size varies throughout the year. Adult males (cleavers) live solitarily outside the rutting period (ones). The size of the habitat depends on the food supply and protection of the place, and changes with the seasons. In winter, the plot area is from 0.5 to 2.5 square meters. km. The site has beds, feeding areas, swimming pools and trails. They communicate through olfactory and acoustic signals; their vision is poorly developed. Boars make beds (dens, gaina) from dry grass, reeds and branches, in which piglets lie down together with the female until they are one year old; males lie down separately. Used in the mud. The diet is varied and variable, including four groups of food: underground parts of plants (rhizomes, roots, tubers, plant bulbs) - the basis of nutrition all year round; seasonal food (fruits, nuts, berries and seeds); vegetative aerial parts of plants; animal food (worms, mollusks, insects and their larvae, small vertebrates, carrion). The rut takes place in November - January. Farrowing occurs in March-May, most often in April. Pregnancy 114-140 days. The number of piglets is usually 4-6, max. — 10-12. Newborns (weight 600-1000 g) are covered only with bristles, the underfur grows later, the color is striped. Up to 2 weeks of age, piglets run away and hide when in danger. Females reach sexual maturity at 8-10 months; males reach sexual maturity at 18-20 months, but they take part in reproduction later.