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Sus scrofa

(Central European Wild Pig)

Overview

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Mammal. Feral pigs are escaped or released domestic animals. Introduced to many parts of the world, they damage crops , stock and property and transmit many diseases. They dig up large areas of native vegetation and spread weeds , disrupting ecological processes such as succession and species composition.

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Bosnian Wild Boar, Central European Wild Pig, Eurasian Wild Boar, Eurasian Wild Pig, Feral Hog, Feral Pig, Old World Swine, Pig, Pig (Feral), Razorback, Russian Wild Boar, Wild Boar, Wild Hog

Description

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Physical Description

Species Sus scrofa

Pigs are large omnivorous mammals with powerful bodies and coarse hairy coats . Their thick necks, wedge-shaped heads and mobile snouts enable them to root up the ground when feeding.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,037 meters (0 to 9,964 feet).[1]

Biome: agricultural areas, coastland, disturbed areas, natural forest , planted forests, range/grasslands, riparian zones, scrub/shrublands, urban areas, wetlands

Ecology: Anderson and Stone (1993) regarded feral pigs as “currently the most pervasive and disruptive alien influence on the unique native forests of the Hawaiian Islands”. Pigs damage forests by eating or uprooting tree seedlings as well as other plants with palatable leaves or stems, including ferns and some orchids (Kirk 1896). They break open tree-fern trunks in searching for starch (Griffin 1977). A secondary but very significant impact results from their consumption of the fruit of some species of invasive weed such as guava (particularly Psidium spp. ); the seeds pass through the gut and into droppings, thus spreading those weeds far more rapidly. Pigs also impact on large native invertebrates, such as earthworms and landsnails (e.g. Meads et al. 1984) by destroying their habitat , and eating their eggs , juvenile growth stages, or adults . However, as with plants, these impacts have seldom been quantified. Pigs are very effective predators of both surface-and burrow-nesting seabirds. Moors and Atkinson (1984) concluded that pigs probably also eat the eggs and young of other surface-nesting seabirds such as albatrosses, shags and boobies, but adequate documentation is lacking. In addition to their impact on native wildlife and native plant/animal communities, pigs adversely affect agricultural crops , including sugar cane . They also damage planted forests by digging up young trees and eating their roots (McIlroy 1990). They have the potential to spread diseases to other animals, both domestic and native, and are reputed to facilitate attacks on trees by the dieback disease caused by the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi (Auld and Tisdell 1986).

Biology

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Diet

A Wild Pig will eat almost anything that has nutritional value, including tubers, roots , shoots , acorns , fruits, berries , earthworms, amphibians , reptiles , rodents, and even newborn fawns of the White-tailed Deer.

Reproduction

Feral pigs are polyoestrus: adult females have a 21-day oestrus cycle and a gestation period of about 112-114 days. In New Zealand they probably breed throughout the year, though mainly in spring and summer (Wodzicki 1950; J. McIlroy unpublished.).In New Zealand pigs breed throughout the year, with a litter size of 6-10 piglets, but usually only half this number survive. They reach breeding age at between 10 and 12 months (Wodzicki 1950).

Pigs are normally social animals but adult boars over 18 months old are invariably solitary (McIlroy 1990).

Behavior

Humans are the major predators of this species, but large carnivores like the Black Bear and the Mountain Lion are capable of preying on young adults . Piglets may be preyed upon by bobcats, foxes, and coyotes. During the summer months, Wild Pigs create wallows in wet sites.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 22-Apr-2004.

Similar Species

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The only native North American wild pig, the Collared Peccary Tayassu tajacu inhabits the deserts and thorn scrub of Arizona, New Mexico, and south Texas.

Members of the genus Sus

There are approximately 77 species in this genus:

S. affinis · S. andamanensis · S. arvernensis · S. attila · S. australis · S. babyrussa · S. barbatus (Bearded Pig) · S. barbatus ahoenobarbus (Palawan Bearded Pig) · S. barbatus balabacensis · S. barbatus barbatus · S. barbatus negrinus · S. barbatus oi (Western Bearded Pig) · S. bucculentus (Indo-Chinese Warty Pig) · S. cebifrons (Visayan Warty Pig) · S. cebifrons cebifrons (Cebu Warty Pig) · S. cebifrons negrinus · S. celebensis (Sulawesi Warty Pig) · S. cristatus (Bornean Pig) · S. cristatus cristatus · S. domesticus · S. erymanthius · S. falconeri · S. giganteus · S. gomphotherioides · S. heureni (Flores Warty Pig) · S. leucomystax · S. lydekkeri · S. minor · S. nanus · S. palustris · S. peii · S. philippensis (Philippine Warty Pig) · S. philippensis mindanensis · S. philippensis oliveri · S. philippensis philippensis · S. philippinensis · S. pliciceps · S. priscus · S. salvanius (Pygmy Hog) · S. scofa · S. scrofa (Central European Wild Pig) · S. scrofa andamanensis · S. scrofa attila · S. scrofa baeticus · S. scrofa barbarus · S. scrofa castilianus · S. scrofa chirodonta · S. scrofa chirodontus · S. scrofa chirotentis · S. scrofa coreanus · S. scrofa cristatus · S. scrofa domestica · S. scrofa domesticus (Wild Boar) · S. scrofa ferus · S. scrofa jubatus · S. scrofa leucomystax · S. scrofa lybicus · S. scrofa majori · S. scrofa meridionalis · S. scrofa milleri · S. scrofa moupinensis · S. scrofa nigripes · S. scrofa papuensis · S. scrofa riukiuanus (Ryukyu Islands Wild Pig) · S. scrofa scrofa · S. scrofa ussuricus · S. scrofa var. domestica · S. scrofa vittatus · S. sondaari · S. strozzi · S. strozzii · S. tajacu · S. timoriensis (Timor Wild Boar) · S. verrucosus (Javan Warty Pig) · S. verrucosus minutus · S. verrucosus verrucosus · S. xiaozhu

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 377.110 meters (1,237.238 feet), Standard Deviation = 419.340 based on 3,264 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-05-11