( Sus Scrofa )
PHOTO CREDIT: Iran Safari
Local name: Jungli Sowar, Khanzeer (Urdu)
Discription and Biology:
Size:Body Length: 90-200 cm / 3-6.6 ft.
Shoulder Height: 55-110 cm / 1.8-3.6 ft.
Tail Length: 15-40 cm / 6-16 in.
Weight: 44-320 kg / 91-711 lb.
Description: The brownish coat is coarse and bristly, usually turning greyish with age. The face, cheeks, and throat are slightly grizzled with whitish hairs. The back is rounded and the legs are relatively long, especially in northern subspecies. Young are born with a pattern of light stripes along their torso, known as livery. These fade between the second and sixth month, reaching adult colouration at one year of age. The wartless head is long and pointed. The upper canines form tusks which curve out and upwards. The lower canines are like razors, self-sharpening by rubbing against the upper canines. The tail is long with a simple tuft.
Reproduction: Gestation Period: 112-130 days, Young per Birth: 4-8, rarely up to 13. Weaning: At 3-4 months. Sexual Maturity: Usually at 18 months. Life span: 21 years. Breeding occurs year-round in the tropics, although in more temperate zone the young are born primarily in the spring. Just prior to giving birth, the female isolates herself and builds a large nest lined with vegetation. Within two weeks of birth, each piglet has its "own" nipple from which it drinks from exclusively. The yound become independent at 7 months of age.
Social Behavior: Activity is concentrated from dusk to dawn, with a primary resting period at night and a "siesta" during the early afternoon. Wild boars rest in tight groups with bodily contact. The resting place, used several times before being abandoned, is made of numerous troughs lined with leaves and branches. Wild boar are excellent swimmers, and have been documented swimming between offshore islands up to 7 km / 4 miles apart. Wallowing is a favourite activity, taking place several times during each summer afternoons in muddy waterholes. In winter, this frequency drops to about once per week. After wallowing, the wild boar rubs against trees and bushes, an activity that acts as a territorial marker. Ten different vocalizations have been distinguished, and each mother can recognize her own offspring be voice. Maternal families averaging 20, but with a maximum of 100 animals, adult males solitary. Wild boars are very short tempered and can sometimes be very dangerous.
Diet: Seeds, roots, tubers, fruit, nuts, carrion, eggs, insects. In short - ANYTHING. (all above information from "The Ulimate Ungulate Page" by Brent Huffman).
Habitat and Distribution:
The Indian Wild boar prefers area with thick vegetation. They are found in reed beds as well as scrub and forest areas and are often found living in the vicinity of larger cities of Pakistan. In Pakistan the wild boar is common in the indus riverian forest of river Indus throughout the provinces of Punjab and Sind. Increased sugar plantation has increased the wild boar population in some areas of Punjab so high that they are now considered a pest. Numbers in Sind have declined, but it is not endangered and is still found in good numbers. Wild boars are plentiful in the forest plantations of Changa Manga and Piranwala. They are common in Margalla Hills and are regularly seen on the streets of Islamabad, despite government efforts to control their population. Wild boars are not found in the higher hill ranges in the north of the country. They are rare in Kohat and Peshawar. Despite government efforts to reduce Wild boar populations, by using pesticides and hunting there has been no significant effect on the population of wild boars in Pakistan, and they are increasing in many areas of Punjab.
