Mammals · Artiodactyla · Suidae

Wild Boar

Sus scrofa

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It is the wild ancestor of every domestic pig in the world. Its piglets are born with a distinctive pattern of light and dark stripes that works as camouflage.

Weight

45 kg – 200 kg

Size

1 m – 2 m

Lifespan

11 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Herd

Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestOmnivore Nocturnal In herds Temperate forest Mammal

72countries 86parks6same family

Fun facts

It is the wild ancestor of every domestic pig in the world.
Its piglets are born with a striped pattern that works as camouflage and fades at 3 to 4 months.
It is an opportunistic omnivore, feeding on roots, bulbs, seeds and carrion.
sentidosIt has an extraordinarily keen sense of smell that lets it detect food buried more than 20 centimetres underground.
locomociónIt can swim considerable distances between islands near the coast, and has colonised several Mediterranean islands naturally in this way.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Forests, scrubland and wetlands of Eurasia and North Africa, and widely introduced across the Americas and Oceania
Birth weight: 0.4-0.8 kg at birth, with the characteristic longitudinal stripes that fade at 3 to 4 months
Size at birth: 0.4-0.8 kg at birth
Sexual maturity: Female: ~1 year | Male: ~2 years (though it rarely breeds successfully before the age of 5)
Gestation / incubation: 108-120 days
Litter / clutch size: 4 to 6 piglets per litter (up to 10-12 in good conditions)
Lifespan in captivity: Documented record of up to 27 years in one subspecies

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); BioKIDS; AAAC Wildlife Removal; Animalia.bio; Animal Kingdom; Wiley (birth rate offspring survival study); PMC (puberty female wild boar study)