If you grew up around wild boars, you were probably taught to fear them. Their strength, built-in weapons (tusks), and aggression can leave you seriously injured, so perhaps you have wondered if there are any animals more powerful than them. What are a wild boar’s predators? Does anything hunt them? Keep reading to find out!
What You'll Learn Today
All of a Wild Boar’s Natural Predators
You will notice quite a few predators on this list; but do not let that fool you. Even many of the most aggressive predators will only take on young or very old wild boars; they tend to leave healthy adults, especially males, alone.
Wild boars have thick hides and will fight aggressively if attacked. Adult males are strong and quick, and they can easily gore attackers to death with their tusks.
Again though, there are many animals that will prey on young wild boars, as well as adult females and even old, sickly males from time to time. Let’s take a closer look at each of these predators.
Wolf
Wolves are known for being one of the most common predators of the wild boar throughout much of their worldwide range. Since wolves hunt in packs, they tend to have better success at taking boars and have even been known to attack and kill adults in some areas.
Wolves hunt wild boars by attacking them from behind, tearing their perineum, causing them to lose blood rapidly and throwing off their coordination. They are particularly threatening in the winter, when boars can’t move around as easily due to snowfall.
A single wolfpack can take out as many as 80 wild boars in one year. They have been known to wipe out entire populations of wild boars.
Crocodile
Crocodiles are another major predator of wild boars, particularly young ones. Their stealthy hunting tactics allow them to sneak up on boars at the water’s edge, grabbing one in their powerful jaws and hauling it into the water.
Crocodiles have an exceptionally strong bite force, which allows them to penetrate the boar’s thick hide. What’s more, the crocodile’s strength allows them to quickly kill a boar, especially a baby, and rip it into bite-sized pieces.
Check out the following video of crocodiles attacking wild boars:
Komodo Dragon
On a few Indonesian islands, Komodo dragons are apex predators and wild boars are one of their favorite prey.
Like crocodiles, Komodo dragons are exceptionally strong and have a powerful bite force. Their large size and brute strength gives them the ability to take on most any foe, including wild boars.
Again though, they typically target young boars, which are far easier to catch and kill.
Tiger
Wild boars are a primary food source of tigers in various regions of Africa, Asia, and Russia. Tigers have been known to slowly destroy entire populations of wild boars by taking out their members one at a time.
Tigers seem to prefer wild boars, as they will hunt them for longer periods of time than other types of prey. They will hunt both piglets and adult females on a regular basis, occasionally even taking on adult males.
A single Siberian tiger can kill as many as 34 wild boars a year. Wild boars, along with the Manchurian wapiti, make up the majority of this tiger’s food source.
Leopard
Leopards in parts of Asia, Africa, and Russia sometimes hunt and feed on wild boars. They tend to avoid adults but will frequently hunt piglets.
Specifically, in Serigol National Park in Iran, wild boars are the second most common animal preyed upon by leopards. The leopards found in this region are particularly large, which may be one reason why they tend to target wild boars more frequently.
Throughout the rest of their range, they seem to be more cautious about attacking wild boars, even young ones. They will do it if they are hungry, but they seem to understand that attacking a wild boar can be dangerous and challenging.
Brown Bear
Bears, especially brown bears, sometimes attack young wild boars. They are strong and powerful, which allows them to quickly overwhelm piglets and break through their tough hide.
That said, they tend to avoid mature wild boars, only taking babies that may get separated from the group, or snatching them quickly and retreating before the adults can mount an attack. Despite their size and strength, bears can be intimidated by the aggressiveness of adult boars.
Hyena
Hyenas are powerful predators despite their relatively small size. With that in mind, they will sometimes hunt wild boars.
Only the largest subspecies of hyena will attempt to take on a boar, and even then, it typically takes a group of them to kill it.
Python
Some of the largest snakes in the world, such as pythons, will occasionally take on wild boar piglets. These snakes will wrap their long, powerful bodies around the piglets, killing them by suffocation, then swallowing them whole.
Eagle
Large birds of prey, such as various eagle species, will sometimes prey on wild boar piglets as well. Their strong, sharp beaks allow them to rip into the piglet’s hide, while their strong talons prevent it from escaping.
Lynx
The lynx is a relatively small but aggressive wild cat that has been known to hunt wild boar piglets. Lynxes tend to avoid confrontations with a group of boars, instead stalking their prey and attacking any young ones that get separated.
Marten
Yellow-throated martens are small, adorable-looking creatures, but they are highly aggressive and have been known to take on prey much larger than themselves.
They will occasionally hunt wild boar piglets, though they tend to avoid the adults.
Jungle Cat
Jungle cats, which look a bit like a larger version of a house cat, sometimes attack wild boar piglets. Again, though, they seem to know they are no match for the adult boars, so they steer clear of groups as well as solitary males.
Dhole
Dholes are wolf-like creatures found in parts of Asia. They live in a relatively small area, but they are known locally for their aggression toward wild boars–they even help to keep wild boar numbers under control in some regions.
Dingo
Wild boars that have made their way to Australia have found a formidable foe in the dingo. These wild dogs generally leave adult boars alone, but they seem to enjoy hunting and eating the piglets–they kill many of them each year.
Humans
Humans hunt and eat wild boars throughout the world. In fact, in the boar’s non-native regions such as North and South America, humans may be seen as the wild boar’s only predators.
Many humans consider wild boars a survival food, while others hunt them for sport or kill them when they invade crops. Still others will kill them out of self-defense.
Conclusion
Wild boars have thick hides, sharp tusks, and aggressive natures, but they are still hunted by a variety of predators. Many of these predators will only prey on wild boar piglets, but some of them will hunt the adults as well.
