Species of the Month: Wild Boar

Common Name: Wild Boar, Wild Pig

Scientific Name: Sus scrofa

IUCN Red List: Least Concern

CITES: No Cites Legislation

Wildlife Protection Act of India (1972): Schedule II

Population trend: Unknown

I have been away for some time and was unable to post regularly. Now that I am back you can look forward to regular posts on the Species of the Month.

Wild herbivores are staging a steady comeback in the private forests of the Gadoli and Manda Khal Fee Simple Estates. These forests were ravaged in the past by unscrupulous land sharks who were destroying these forests for personal gain and profiteering. Like, this old, battled-scared male Wild Boar, who appears to have fought many a foe from rival males to leopards. He also did not seem to bother much about my camera – trap.

Wild Boar often raid farmer’s fields in these areas, destroying their crops for which they are often persecuted. They are also often hunted for their meat while destruction of their forest habitat often leads to their local extinction.

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) also known as Wild Pig has a wide global distribution from temperate to tropical regions. It lives in a variety of habitats which include forests, savannahs, grasslands, inland wetlands, and even deserts. It is also found in the central Himalayas and in the private forests of the Gadoli and Manda Khal Fee Simple Estates which are being monitored through a network of camera - traps and sign–surveys for studying wild herbivores. In these private forests, wild boar are mostly solitary, though small herds consisting of a male with females and their litter are quite common once the females give birth.

Wild boars are known as nature’s ploughmen as they dig the soil for underground roots and tubers, churning the soil and creating deep furrows which facilitate the regeneration of forest tree species and many other shrubs and herbs. They are also important seed dispersers adding to the important ecological role that they play in nature. They are also one of the favorite wild prey for leopards in these areas.

Conservation Action: The Gadoli and Manda Khal Wildlife Conservation Trust is working actively on-ground to protect coniferous and broadleaved habitats of Wild Boars in the private forests of the Gadoli and Manda Khal Fee Simple Estates and peripheral areas in this landscape. Foot patrols to curb illicit tree felling, lopping and illegal cutting of natural regeneration are conducted regularly to secure habitat for the species.

Sources:

IUCN Red List

CITES

WLPA(1972)