Wild boar

Sus scrofaChelsea Warner

Mammalogy/BIOL 5760

Fall 2016Figure 1. Example of Sus scrofa

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Suidae

Genus: Sus

Species: Sus scrofa

NOTE:

In 1981, 16 subspecies (potentially 17) subspecies were recognized, while others were clumped together. [4]

Other Names

Wild swine [2]

Eurasian wild pig [3]

“Scrofa” is Latin for “sow” [3]

Distinguishing Characteristics

Dental Formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 [5]

Unique characteristics:

Coarse grizzled hair – brown, black, gray [9]

Large canines (most prominent in males) [9]

Coat color varies with age [2]

nicotinic acetylcholine receptor - protects against

snake venom [6]

Adult size dependent on environmental factors

Weight 35-200 kg [9]

Body length 1.3-1.8 m [9]

Sexual dimorphism

Males larger in size [4]

Males tusks more prominent [4]

Figure 2. Dentition

Figure 3. Large adult male

Figure 4. Piglet

Abundance

Occurs on all

continents except

Antarctica [4]

Easily adaptable

and considered a

pest in many areas [4]

Extirpated in British

Isles, Scandinavia,

parts of North

Africa, and large

areas in the former

Soviet Union and

northern Japan [4]

Distribution

Abundant in most

areas of its range. [4]

Depressed in some

areas that have high

hunting pressure. [4]

Several populations

still increasing. [4]

Home Range

Adults – 500-2000 ha [4]

Subadults- 500-5000

ha [4]

6-12 months 10000 +

ha (likely dispersion

from natal groups) [4]

Figure 5.

Range map

Habitats Occupied

Almost anywhere with tree cover and

water [4]

Various temperate and tropical habitats [4]

Tropical rain forest- semi desert [4]

Woodlands [4]

Will utilize agricultural land and grasslands

to forage [4]

Figure 6. Grassland

Figure 7. Temperate forest

Diet

Omnivorous

90% vegetation (fruits, seeds, roots, tubers) [4]

Diet depends on food availability [4]

Indonesia – primarily frugivorous [4]

West Malaysia (ag lands) – primarily sugar cane, tapioca, and

rice [4]

Animal matter – detrimental to some species such as sea

turtles [4]

Figure 8. Tubers

Figure 9. Hard mastFigure 10. Sea turtle eggs

Diseases and Parasites

Brucellosis [10]

Sarcoptic mange [4]

Hog cholera [4]

Figure 11. Lifecycle of Brucellosis

Figure 12. Sarcoptic

mange miteFigure 13. Kidneys of a positive

case of hog cholera

Behavior

More active in early morning and late afternoon [4]

Nocturnal in some areas [4]

4-8 hours spent foraging [4]

Social activity [4]

Live in sounders – group of females and last litters [4]

6-20 individuals [4]

Occasional bachelor groups of subadult males [4]

Reproduction, Life History, Lifespan

Females may begin reproducing at < 1 year of age [1]

Typically one litter per year [1]

May have 2 if female unsuccessful at raising the first litter [1]

Litter size varies upon geographic location [4]

Average 4-6 piglets [2]

Gestation 114-140 days (dependent upon age) [2]

Most die by their first birthday [8]

If they survive their 2nd and 3rd birthdays they are likely to live to age 5 [8]

Some have lived to as old as 9 years [8]

Genetics

chromosome number: 2n = 38 [7]

DNA sequence data: XX/XY [7]

Likely that wild populations are no longer pure due to cross breeding

with domestic swine. [4]

Conservation Status

Least concern [4]

Some subspecies are threatened [4]

Ryukyu Islands' dwarf wild pig, S. s. riukiuanus [4]

Conservation plans are to increase awareness of such subspecies [4]

Overall S. scrofa is highly adaptable and resistant [4]

Biggest threat is genetic contamination [4]

Management actions are to prevent cross breeding between domestic and

wild populations. [4]

Questions?

References 1. Bieber, Claudia, and Thomas Ruf. "Population dynamics in wild boar Sus scrofa: ecology, elasticity of

growth rate and implications for the management of pulsed resource consumers." Journal of Applied Ecology42.6 (2005): 1203-1213.

2. Geptner, Vladimir Georgievich, et al. Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol. 2. Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation, 1998.

3. Oliver, W. L. R., I. L. Brisbin, and S. Takahashi. "The Eurasian wild pig (Sus scrofa)." Pigs, peccaries and hippos: status survey and action plan (1993): 112-121.

4. Oliver, W. & Leus, K. 2008. Sus scrofa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T41775A10559847. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T41775A10559847.en. Downloaded on 25 October 2016.

5. Matschke, George H. "Aging European wild hogs by dentition." The Journal of Wildlife Management (1967): 109-113.

6. Drabeck, Danielle H., Antony M. Dean, and Sharon A. Jansa. "Why the honey badger don't care: Convergent evolution of venom-targeted nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in mammals that survive venomous snake bites." Toxicon 99 (2015): 68-72.

7. Makino, Sajiro. "The Chromosome Complex of the Pig (Sus scrofa)(Chromosome studies in domestic mammals, III)." Cytologia 13.2 (1944): 170-178.

8. Jezierski, Włodzimierz. "Longevity and mortality rate in a population of wild boar." Acta Theriologica 22.24 (1977): 337-348.

9. Kays, Roland W., and Don E. Wilson. Mammals of North America. Princeton University Press, 2009.

10. Cvetnic, Z., et al. "Wild boars (Sus scrofa) as reservoirs of Brucella suis biovar 2 in Croatia." ActaVeterinaria Hungarica 51.4 (2003): 465-473.

Figure References Figure 1. http://www.gettyimages.com/license/601039752

Figure 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar#/media/File:Animaldentition_susscrofa.png

Figure 3. https://www.google.com/search?q=sus+scrofa+piglet&newwindow=1&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJrbqizYDQAhWEPCYKHR2wB7cQ_AUICCgB&biw=1366&bih=633#imgrc=oj9edOlArIS4jM%3A

Figure 4. https://www.google.com/search?q=sus+scrofa+piglet&newwindow=1&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJrbqizYDQAhWEPCYKHR2wB7cQ_AUICCgB&biw=1366&bih=633#imgrc=jbVB0kjJ3ARZqM%3A

Figure 5. https://www.google.com/search?q=sus+scrofa+range+map&newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7t7S344DQAhUDKyYKHSO6DeEQ_AUICCgB#imgrc=eKombEMZxiTa-M%3A

Figure 6. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=grasslands&oq=grasslands&gs_l=img.3..0l10.66541.72859.0.73207.25.16.2.4.4.0.180.1505.10j5.15.0....0...1c.1.64.img..6.17.1170...0i8i10i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i67k1j0i10k1.AgsoHgBa_xU#imgrc=1s47S5A22cSldM%3A

Figure 7. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=temperate+forests&oq=temperate+forests&gs_l=img.3..0l10.80510.85437.0.86127.17.12.0.5.5.0.1721.2477.1j3j1j8-1.6.0....0...1c.1.64.img..6.11.2510...0i67k1.uiJjRmm9odE#imgrc=JU_naDNTAzrzTM%3A

Figure 8. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=tubers&oq=tubers&gs_l=img.3..0i67k1l2j0l5j0i67k1j0l2.9360.9928.0.10303.6.5.0.0.0.0.201.476.0j2j1.3.0....0...1c.1.64.img..3.3.471.BInWn_Gsi-Y#imgrc=Gv_ugBVNo01DfM%3A

Figure 9. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=hard++mast&oq=hard++mast&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i30k1j0i8i30k1l5j0i24k1l2.113192.115288.0.115497.10.10.0.0.0.0.156.1118.3j7.10.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.10.1109.He0GBpA9Lt4#imgrc=Fj9K0HGRT4tj9M%3A

Figure 10. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=sea+turtle+eggs&oq=sea+turtle+eggs&gs_l=img.3..0l4j0i7i30k1l2j0i7i5i30k1l4.34941.42156.0.42647.21.15.1.0.0.0.216.1675.7j7j1.15.0....0...1c.1.64.img..7.14.1473...0i8i7i30k1j0i67k1.q888TUflnuk#imgrc=YBbPcdqGakgeqM%3A

Figure 11. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=brucellosis&oq=brucellosis&gs_l=img.3..0j0i67k1l2j0l7.67133.69628.0.70465.13.13.0.0.0.0.284.1499.6j6j1.13.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.13.1487...0i24k1.P0QnGGd6FFs#imgrc=I2N6Q6VgyG81LM%3A

Figure 12. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=sarcoptic+mange+wild+boar&oq=sarcoptic+mange+wild+boar&gs_l=img.3...19451.24146.0.24283.10.10.0.0.0.0.245.959.6j2j1.9.0....0...1c.1.64.img..1.3.242...0j0i67k1j0i24k1.J8rLAIKQ8EI#imgrc=ueTRrtcNuDUGcM%3A

Figure 13. https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&safe=off&biw=1366&bih=633&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Hog+cholera+&oq=Hog+cholera+&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i30k1j0i24k1l7.139273.139273.0.139556.1.1.0.0.0.0.209.209.2-1.1.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.1.205.eJ96zY-Gy4o#imgrc=iBCeSdVjfjy8BM%3A

Figure References Continued