Kingdom animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Family suidae
Gender sus
Speciessus scrofa
Wild boars are very old animals, with a significant distribution. They originate from North Africa and Southwest Asia, but have been introduced in different regions of the world. Currently, in some countries, they are extinct and in others, such as Brazil, they are considered invasive alien species.
The bodies of these animals are robust, as are their limbs; being covered by long and rigid hairs, with a hue that varies between red and brown, presenting with longitudinal stripes in the case of younger individuals. The muzzle is long, and the ears are oval and full of hair. In addition, they have two pairs of fangs.
Boars live in packs, led by a dominant male. However, older males tend to live alone, approaching other individuals only to reproduce. In such situations, there can be fights between the resident male and the “intruder” who wants to mate with the females who are there. Usually the oldest are the ones who win the dispute.
The estrus period lasts about five weeks and, at this time, these males drive away the others (who will look for other flocks to dominate and reproduce), and remain in the company of the females. Each gestation lasts about three and a half months, giving rise to approximately five offspring that, at a year and a half, will already be able to reproduce. Generally, females have only one gestation per year. Boar life expectancy is approximately twenty years.
In the morning, they usually sleep and, in the late afternoon, they look for food and water to refresh themselves. His diet is omnivorous, without too many restrictions. For this reason, when they invade rural properties, for example, in the absence of food in their habitat, they can cause significant damage to the farmer, when they devour crops, lambs, chickens, ducks and dogs; and destroy such places.
Furthermore, they can be dangerous if challenged without due care, as their claws are extremely sharp. Because of this attribute, and its strength, few are the animals that submit to face a wild boar. Wolves, in packs, and humans, armed; seem to be the only ones. However, if domesticated, they can be extremely docile.
Competition with native species such as peccary and peccary; changes in the environment due to their habits of rooting around in the soil, hindering processes in the succession of forest regeneration; and the ability to transmit diseases such as rabies, leptospirosis and foot-and-mouth disease; make them present as a problem in cases of overpopulation.
For this reason, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers wild boar to be one of the invasive species with the greatest potential for causing damage to the environment. Some strategies have been adopted, and also studied, to control such populations. The main one has been controlled hunting, with its meat being used for food purposes.
About this food item, its meat is much less caloric than beef, more protein, and its cholesterol level is almost zero.
By Mariana Araguaia
Biologist, specialist in Environmental Education
