Boar, Wild, is a wild hog of southwestern and central Asia and North Africa. Wild boars also once roamed the forests of Europe but now are rarely seen there in their free state. The name boar is also given to the male domestic hog. A wild boar does not usually grow so heavy and fat as a domestic hog. The wild boar stands 3 feet (91 centimeters) high or more at the shoulder. The wild animal may weigh as much as 400 pounds (180 kilograms). Wild boars are strong and ferocious.
The wild boar has grayish or brownish coloring with short hair and coarse bristles. The lower jaw has two powerful tusks which are used for fighting. The wild boar lives in dense thickets where it hides from danger. Sometimes it wallows in mud during the hot weather. It is a cautious animal and feeds at night on roots and grain. Sometimes the wild boar also eats small animals and birds’ eggs. The boar’s head was brought into the dining halls with great ceremony in ancient and medieval times.
Hunting the wild boar has been a favorite sport of kings and nobles from earliest times. When the Norman kings ruled England, from 1066 to 1399, anyone who killed a wild boar without royal permission might be blinded. Some great estates in Europe still keep wild boars in their woods to hunt. Boars have also been brought to some parts of the United States to be hunted. Sports enthusiasts consider boar hunting on foot with hounds and spears exciting and dangerous. In India, the larger boar is hunted on horseback. The hunter carries a spear and kills the boar by charging it. This is called “pigsticking” in India. It is dangerous, but it was a popular sport in the 1800’s.
