Did you know that wild boars will eat almost anything they can find, including non-food items? Or that some species can weigh more than 600 pounds? Keep reading to learn more about these and other wild boar key facts.
Quick Facts About Wild Boars
| Scientific Name: | Sus scrofa |
| Common Names: | Wild boar, wild hog, feral pig, razorback, Old World swine |
| Type of Animal: | Mammal: Hog |
| Physical Description: | Medium to large hog. Appearance varies by species, but they generally have short, coarse, brown fur and sharp tusk-like canine teeth. Males are generally larger than females, and some may weigh more than 600 pounds, though most range between 75 and 250 pounds. Wild boar piglets are usually lighter yellow-brown in color with dark brown stripes running the length of the body. |
| Distribution: | Native to Europe and Asia; introduced and widely distributed on every continent except Antarctica. |
| Habitat: | Can live in a variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, wetlands, mountains, deserts, coastal regions, and urban areas. |
| Size: | Varies by species: – Height: Up to 35 inches – Length: Up to 5 feet – Weight: Up to 600 pounds or more |
| Diet: | Opportunistic omnivores; foods include: – Grass – Leaves – Grains – Nuts Fruits – Vegetables – Fungi – Insects – Invertebrates – Lizards – Rats – Eggs – Carrion |
| Average Lifespan: | 5 to 10 years |
| Endangered? | No |
What is a Wild Boar?
Wild boars are pig-like creatures that can be found throughout the world. Though native to parts of Europe and Asia, they have been introduced on every continent except Antarctica and their numbers have greatly increased.
Wild boars are covered in coarse dark fur, and males in particular have prominent tusk-like canine teeth. Young boars are lighter in color and have distinctive stripes running down the back.
Otherwise, wild boars are fairly pig-like in appearance.
Wild boars have adapted to a wide variety of environments, though they seem to prefer forest habitats. Due to habitat loss, they are becoming a more common sight in urban and residential areas.
Male boars are solitary except during mating season, while females tend to live in groups called sounders. These groups are composed of up to 30 individuals of varying ages: the female hogs and their young.
Wild boars will eat almost anything, though they prefer plant-based foods such as grains, leaves, grass, nuts, and vegetables. They also eat some meat-based foods and have even been known to eat trash and other non-food items.
Do Wild Boars Eat Humans?
With so many different foods, you may be wondering: do wild boars eat humans? After all, they have a reputation for being aggressive and dangerous, and are occasionally known to kill humans that they attack.
The short answer is yes, a wild boar might eat a human if it was hungry enough.
That said, boars eat so many other foods, and they usually prefer foods that require little effort on their part. A boar would be more likely to eat the remains of an already-dead human than to attack a live person with the intent of eating it.
Wild boars rarely attack humans unless they feel cornered or threatened. They might attack if they are desperate from extreme hunger, but this would be a highly unlikely occurrence.
Check out this video to learn more about wild boars:
Conclusion
Wild boars are found throughout the world. These brown, hairy pigs will eat almost anything and may attack humans if they feel threatened or if they are suffering from extreme starvation. Here’s more about their predators and sound they make.