7. Ecology and management of WILD BOAR: distribution, ecological characteristics, and economic/hunting importance. Flashcards
Wild boar
Sus scrofa
Distribution and Introduced
most widely distributed land mammal on Earth as it’s native range includes large parts of Europe, Asia and parts of North Africa. Reintroduced to the British Isles, Sweden
USA, Australia, New-Zealand, South-America (all continents except antarctica)
Habitat
It prefers broadleaved forests and especially evergreen oak forests, but may also be found in more open habitats such as steppe, Mediterranean shrubland, and farmland, so long as there is water and tree cover nearby.
Adapts well to cultivated and managed areas
Diet
Omnivorous, generalist. Studies indicate that vegetable matter, principally fruits, seeds, roots and tubers, constitutes about 90% of the diet. Eat worms, snails, eggs (damage in protected animals and in small game species) or carrion
Description
Body length: ♂ 105-170 cm ♀ 100-140 cm (tail: 17-30 cm), Body weight: ♂ 100-130 kg ♀ 30-80 kg
Large head, long narrow snout, and small ears. Coat is a brown/grey colour, males are larger than females and have tusks. Piglets have brown stripes across the body. Lifespan 10-12 years
Social Behaviou
Female Wild Boars are relatively sociable animals, inhabiting loose territories in groups known as sounders (the sows are relatives) which can contain between 6 and 30 individuals. The oldest, largest sow is the leader (hierarchy).
Males are solitary.
Home Range
2000-15 000 ha
Rutting/The male
Prior to mating, the males develop their subcutaneous armour (scapular shield), in preparation for confronting rivals.
*Males use their tusks for the fights during the mating season.
*They seek the sounders, chase away the young animals and mate with 5-10 sows then go away to live further solitary.
Reproduction
The breeding period in most areas lasts from November to January
Gestation period: 115-120 days
1-2 litters per season
Calves
Birth in March
sow gives birth to 4 - 6 (12) piglets in a nest found in a dense thicket (the sow leaves the sounder during birth) *Litter size depends on the age and nutrition of the mother if the mother dies prematurely, the piglets are adopted
Hunting
The hunting bag was 135 825 ind. in 2014
Hunting: chases, high/low stands, drive hunt, coach hunt
Hunting season is open throughout the year to keep population controlled but Protection of females during pregnancy season (Jan 1 – April 30)
* Large income due to the popularity
* Inadequate efforts to stop spreading
The main trophy is the set of lower (C1) and upper (C1) tusks
Management
Damages: Agricultural and forest damages, nest predation, damages to rare plants and transports of invasive plants from one place to another, human x wild boar conflicts
In the past they were viewed as vermin
Harvest rate: minimum 110-160% compared to the pre-reproduction population. Proportion of adult males is 1/3 of the adults shot (2/3 females).
80% of harvest from piglets and yearlings
Management goals in hunting gardens:
* Concentrated population: easier to hunt
* More secured income and population management
* Reduced damages
Management problems: inside hunting garden the reproduction is low, the quality is not the best and a lot of resources and money are spent on fencing.
Status
Increasing
