Wild Boar, Wild Cattle

Wild Boar

Wild boar: Sus scrofa

Distribution: Europe, N. Africa, Asia, Sumatra, Japan, Taiwan. Introduced into N. America. Semi-wild pigs live in North and South America, Australia & New Zealand.

Habitat: Broad-leaved woodland & wild grassland areas.

Description: Pale grey to brown or black in colour; thick hide with sparse bristles and some finer hairs. Tusks (enlarged canine teeth) - larger in the male.

Size: Length of body and head: 90 - 180cm: length of tail: 30 - 40cm: weight: 50 - 200kg.

Life-span: 15 -20 years.

Food: Roots, fruits, nuts, fungi, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, birds, carrion. Domesticated pigs are descended from the wild boar which has passed on many of its characteristics, although it is much slimmer, tougher and more agile than the average farmyard pig! Wild Boar Habits

Territory: the wild boar lives in a family party that has a territory of 10 - 20 sq km but in the autumn, family groups come together to form herds of up to 50 females and youngsters. The group is known as a sounder, led by an older sow, and its members feed, rest and sleep together. The young male forms a bachelor group but the older male remains solitary, joining up with females in the autumn mating season. Once mated, he will once again live alone.

Daily life: a wild boar searches for food mainly at dawn and dusk, rooting amongst the leaf litter and damp soil of open woodlands with its toughened snout. It has a keen sense of smell and will eat almost anything! Its main diet consists of plant material but it will happily gobble up any animals it can catch.

Wild boars like to live near mud wallows in which they will spend many hours. This wallowing is an important routine, helping to remove parasites and protect the sensitive skin from the sun's harmful rays. Domestic pigs like to wallow, if allowed to do so.

A den is used for resting and sleeping. A boar often makes a shelter by cutting long grass and crawling under it to lift it so that it becomes entangled with the tall herbage around to form canopies. Wild boars communicate with each other using a wide range of grunts, squeaks and chirrups. They grunt a lot when feeding - a loud grunt is a warning to others.

Breeding: wild boars are sexually mature at 18 months of age, but a male will not usually mate until he is about four years old. During the autumn mating season, the male joins a herd of females and fights any male who challenges his position. Fighting boars use their tusks to slash at each other's shoulders. Despite their thick skin and coarse layer of hair on the shoulders, deep wounds are sometimes inflicted. After mating, the boar leaves the herd, taking no part in rearing the young.

After a gestation period of 112 - 115 days a litter of 3 - 12 piglets is born in the spring. The sow prepares for the birth by constructing a nest of grass and the babies are born into this. The mother has 8 - 14 teats and each piglet has its own teat from which to suckle. The first piglets born choose a teat near their mother's head so that they have a better chance of attracting her attention and are less likely to be trodden on. The piglets are born with stripes and these help to camouflage them in the undergrowth. The litter stays in the nest for about 10 days and then the family moves off, joining up with previous litters. The young are suckled for about 12 weeks before they are completely weaned onto food which they find while rooting around with their mother. Their coats become a dull, dun colour at about 6 months and they will stay with their mother until at least the next litter is born. At one year old their coats are a rich black-brown and they reach full size at 5 - 6 years of age.



Wild Boars and Man

Domestication: the earliest domestication of the wild boar is uncertain but it probably came about when men settled down and began farming rather than hunting. Wild boars don't like being herded but they readily take to life in a sty or house. It is likely that pigs were domesticated from local races, so producing domestic pigs of various sizes.

The Chinese pig was domesticated by the first neolithic farmers in about 3,000 B.C. and was descended from the wild Sus vittatus, a fatter, shorter-legged type than the European Sus scrofa The 'Neapolitan' pig from Italy was said to have been of Siamese ancestry and bred from the Asian pig Sus indicus. Both these pigs were crossed and re-crossed with the native European wild boars. The Siamese pig, or 'tonkey' pig, as it was known, was also introduced into Britain in the eighteenth century together with a variety of other foreign types. All these imported pigs were cross-bred with the European wild boar for nearly a century. The Berkshire pig was the first of the fashionable early breeds and was used to cross-breed with local types to produce many regional strains.

The pig has been bred for its flesh (pork) and its fat. Its bristles have been used for making brushes and the hide for all sorts of leather goods. The bones may be ground up for bone meal fertiliser. However, over the centuries, the domestic pig has been put to quite a few other uses. It has been used for sacrifices; in Roman times, among the armies, there was a strange custom of swearing an oath on a pig or a piglet! Pigs have even been used for pulling carts!

In Ancient Egypt pigs were used for treading in corn, their sharp hoofs making holes of the correct depth for the seed to germinate. Perhaps strangest of all, in medieval England they were trained as pointers and retrievers for illegal hunting in areas like the New Forest. This came about because the commoners, living in the New Forest, were forbidden to keep large dogs - they could only keep dogs capable of passing through King Rufus' Stirrup, an iron stirrup 26.3cm high by 11.3cm across.

Conservation: the wild boar is widespread at the moment, but in Europe it is only found in large areas of forest. It became extinct in Britain during the 17th century, mainly due to hunting and the destruction of its forest habitat.

The older breeds of domestic pig were much more common a hundred years ago than they are today and they are now classed as 'rare breeds'.Conservationists are doing their best to protect these, not just for nostalgic reasons but as an insurance against the future deterioration of our modern pigs. The 'rare breeds', with their ability to survive on poorer food and in harsher conditions, can be used in breeding programmes to fight against disease and improve the modern pig breeds.





WILD CATTLE Quick Facts





Class: Mammalia (Mammals) Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Bubalus, Syncerus, Bos, and Bison Species: 12 species Body length: longest—bison Bison sp., 6.8 to11 feet (2.1 to 3.5 meters); shortest— mountain anoa Bubalus quarlesi, 5 feet (1.5 meters) Shoulder height: tallest—gaur Bos gaurus, 5.2 to 7 feet (1.6 to 2.1 meters); smallest—anoa, 2.3 feet (70 centimeters) Weight: heaviest—Asian water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, 1,500 to 2,600 pounds (700 to1,200 kilograms); lightest—anoa, up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) Life span: 18 to 25 years in the wild, up to 36 in zoos Gestation: 9 to 11 months, depending on species Number of young at birth: 1 to 2, depending on species Size at birth: 50 to 90 pounds (23 to 40 kilograms), depending on species Age of maturity: males—3.5 to 5 years; females—2 to 3 years Conservation status: tamaraw Bubalus mindorensis and kouprey Bos sauveli are at critical risk; lowland anoa Bubalus depressicornis, mountain anoa, Asian water buffalo, banteng Bos javanicus, gaur Bos gaurus, and wisent or European bison Bison bonasus are endangered

Fun Facts • Mountain anoas, also known as dwarf water buffalo, are the smallest wild cattle alive today. These endangered animals are only found on a few Indonesian islands, where they live in dense forests. • There are about 1.3 billion domestic cattle in the world, making them the most numerous of all large mammals except humans. • The most common ancestor of domestic cattle was the auroch Bos taurus, a species that died out in the 1600s. • The Cape or African buffalo Syncerus caffer caffer is known for its bad temper, and won’t hesitate to fight. It will defend its territory, mates, and calves at all costs and has been known to attack and kill lions, leopard, and hyenas, and even humans if needed. Many people consider it to be the most dangerous mammal in Africa.

Range: parts of Africa, Asia, and the islands of Southeast Asia; eastern Europe; and North America, depending on species Habitat: islands, prairies and steppes, rain forests, wetlands, savannas, temperate forests, and taiga, depending on species

Horns Aplenty Wild cattle are larger members of the Bovidae family, a scientific grouping that also includes antelope, goats, and sheep. They include Asian water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, African or Cape buffalo Syncerus sp., bantengs Bos javanicus, gaur Bos gaurus, yaks Bos grunniens, bison Bison sp., and all domestic cattle. Both male and female wild cattle species have horns, but the bull’s (male’s) horns are much larger and thicker than the cow’s (female’s). Cape buffalo have two horns that are joined so that they cover the whole top of the head. In most species, the bull is also much larger than the cow.

Bison or Buffalo? Huge herds of American bison Bison bison once roamed the open plains of North America. But early settlers of the West referred to them as buffalo, and somehow that name stuck. These days either term is considered correct when referring to Bison bison. However, there is no species named "American buffalo."

Safety in Numbers Herd size depends on the species. Gaur, bantengs, and forest buffalo Syncerus caffer nana form small herds of up to 10 animals. American bison and European bison (or wisent) Bison bonasus usually live in groups of 10 to 20 animals. The Cape buffalo Syncerus caffer caffer live in herds averaging 350 members. Anoas Bubalus sp. are the exception—they prefer to live alone or in pairs, probably because they live on small islands in thick forest habitat that is not suitable to large herds.

Often several herds may get together during the breeding season, then go their separate ways again. Within most cattle herds there can only be one bull for all the cows. Young males that don’t manage to take over the herd must head out on their own. Without the protection of the larger group, they often fall prey to leopards or lions. Sometimes the "bachelor" bulls will form small groups of their own. Water buffalo handle things a bit differently. Cows and their young form large "clans." The clan is led by the most experienced cow. Bulls move into the clan just to breed, then go back to their bachelor groups.

Everyone’s Doing It Cattle that live in large herds tend to do everything together. For example, the whole herd will eat at the same time, or lay down to rest at the same time. American bison are famous for running together for miles (kilometers) at the merest hint of danger. One loud snort from an alarmed herd member is all it takes to start a stampede.

Who’s the Lucky Guy? Competition between the bulls during the rutting, or breeding, season can be fierce! Bulls ram heads and horns just like sheep and goats do, and make a loud bellow. The European bison makes a call that can be heard three miles (4.8 kilometers) away. Gaur bulls make a pleasant song that gets lower and lower the longer they sing it to get a cow’s attention. Bison cows have a sneaky trick to make sure they get the best bull possible: even if a bull wins a fight to claim her, she may run past other bulls to stir up yet another tussle.

Born on the Go Many mammal newborns, like kittens and puppies, are almost helpless at birth. Their eyes and ears are shut, and they can’t move around very well at first. But newborn cattle, called calves, are able to walk and then run shortly after they are born. This is important because most cattle live in open habitats that make them easy targets for predators. Being able to move quickly can help both cow and calf escape danger. Wild cattle cows give birth to just one calf, but domestic cows often have twins.

No Rest for the Weary It may seem that cattle species don’t do much but rest and eat. But studies have shown that they only sleep from 2 to 10 minutes at a time, and they only get about an hour’s worth of sleep in a 24-hour period! Why don’t they sleep more? Because it’s not safe! Wild cattle must always be on the lookout for danger. Their good sense of smell, along with their eyes and ears, helps them tell when danger is near.

Protection from the Elements Wild cattle species are found in almost every type of habitat, and have developed ways to survive the weather. Yaks and bison often live high in the mountain areas of Asia. They have long, thick hair to keep them warm in the snow. Cattle that live in warm climates, such as buffalo, use pools of mud to help them cool off. Being covered in mud also keeps pesky insects from biting!

Grass on the Menu Most cattle are grazers, using their tongues and lower teeth to grab grass and leaves. After the food is swallowed, cattle can bring the partially digested food, called cud, back up to their mouth from the first compartment of their stomach for more chewing. They usually chew this cud during a rest period, when they are calm. At the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park the wild cattle species are fed high fiber pellets and Bermuda and Sudan grass hay, and have access to a salt or trace mineral lick.

Wild and Domestic Humans have been using cattle species such as dairy cows, yaks, and oxen for thousands of years. These domesticated animals are descendants of wild cattle such as bantengs, gaur, yaks, and water buffalo, and are numerous throughout the world. Farmers and ranchers keep trying to come up with new breeds of cattle that will be hardier, more disease-resistant, or produce more milk. Meanwhile, wild cattle species are becoming more rare, although they too were once quite numerous. It is estimated that just 100 years ago there were 40 to 60 million bison in North America. And in 1898 an explorer noted there were more yaks on a hillside than there was hill! But over-hunting almost wiped about the American bison; hunting for meat and horns and loss of habitat due to agriculture have reduced the numbers of several other wild cattle species. Another problem is domestic cattle sharing the same grazing space and breeding with the wild species, thus reducing the numbers of pure-bred cattle

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