Boar
52255
226024410
2008-07-16T14:16:35Z
201.53.148.84
/* Feral pigs */
{{Taxobox
| status = LR/lc
| name = Wild Boar
| image = Wild Boar Habbitat 3.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Even-toed ungulate|Artiodactyla]]
| familia = [[Suidae]]
| genus = ''[[Pig|Sus]]''
| species = '''''S. scrofa'''''
| binomial = ''Sus scrofa''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758<br/>}}
The '''wild boar '''(''Sus scrofa'') is an [[omnivorous]], [[wikt:gregarious|gregarious]] [[mammal]] of the [[family (biology)|biological family]] [[Suidae]] (the pig family). It is native across much of [[Central Europe]], the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean Region]] (including North Africa's [[Atlas Mountains]]) and much of [[Asia]] as far south as [[Indonesia]], and has been introduced elsewhere. It is the wild ancestor of the [[domestic pig]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6978203.stm | title=Pig DNA reveals farming history | publisher=[[BBC News]] | first=Liz | last=Seward | date=[[4 September]] [[2007]] | accessdate=2008-06-18}}</ref>
Although common in [[France]], the wild boar became extinct in [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]] by the 17th century, but wild breeding populations have recently returned in some areas, particularly the [[Weald]], following escapes from boar farms.<ref name="dfra">{{cite web
|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/reports/Wild%20Boar%20Risk%20Assessment%201998.pdf
|author =M.J. Goulding B.Sc. M.Sc.
|coauthors =G. Smith B.Sc. Ph.D.
|month=March
|year=1998
|title =Current Status and Potential Impact of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the English Countryside: A Risk Assessment. Report to Conservation Management Division C, MAFF.
|publisher=UK Government, Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref>
==Name==
The term ''boar'' is used to denote an adult male of certain species – including, confusingly, domestic pigs. However, for wild boar, it applies to the whole species, including, for instance, "sow wild boar" or "wild boar piglet"<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=9823&lvl=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock
|title=Taxonomy Browser: Sus Scrofa
|publisher=National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref>
==Physical characteristics==
[[Image:PigSkelLyd2.png|thumb|left|Wild boar skeleton]]
The body of the wild boar is compact; the head is large, the legs relatively short. The [[fur]] consists of stiff bristles and usually finer fur. The colour usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in colour; even whitish animals are known from [[central Asia]].<ref name="mammals of the soviet union">V. G. Heptner and A. A. Sludskii: ''Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol. II, Part 2 Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats)''. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 900408876 8</ref> During winter the fur is much denser.
Adult boars average 100-150 cm in length and have a shoulder height of 90 cm. As a whole, their average weight is 60-70 kilograms (132-154 pounds), though boars show a great deal of weight variation within their geographical range. Boars shot in Tuscanny have been recorded to weigh 150 kg (331 lbs). A French specimen shot in Negremont forest in Ardenne in 1999 weighed 227 kg (550 lbs). Carpathian boars have been recorded to reach weights of 200 kg (441 lbs), while Romanian and Russian boars can reach weights of 300 kg (661 lbs).<ref name="Nera" />
The continuosly growing [[tusk]]s (the canine teeth) serve as weapons and burrowing tools. The lower tusks of an adult male measure about {{convert|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} (from which seldom more than {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} protrude out of the mouth), in exceptional cases even {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The upper tusks are bent upwards in males, and are regularly ground against each other to produce sharp edges. In females they are smaller, and the upper tusks are only slightly bent upwards in older individuals.
Wild boar piglets are coloured differently from adults, being a soft brown with longitudinal darker stripes. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about half-grown, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown colour.
==Behavior==
[[Image:Wildsau mit Frischling.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Young piglets feeding]]
Wild boars live in groups called ''sounders''. Sounders typically contain around 20 animals, but groups of over 50 have been seen. In a typical sounder there are two or three sows and their offspring; adult males are not part of the sounder outside of a breeding cycle, two to three per year, and are usually found alone. Birth, called farrowing, usually occurs in a secluded area away from the sounder; a litter will typically contain 8-12 piglets.<ref name=dfra/><sup>(p. 6)</sup>
<!-- replaced unsourced assertion: ... "eight piglets, but up to 13 have been known.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}" -->
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:sus-scrofa.jpg|thumb|200x400px]] -->
The animals are usually [[nocturnal]], foraging from dusk until dawn but with resting periods during both night and day.<ref name=dfra/><sup>(p. 4-5, 8-9)</sup> They eat almost anything they come across, including [[grass]], [[nut]]s, [[berry|berries]], [[carrion]], [[root]]s, [[tuber]]s, refuse, [[insect]]s, small [[reptile]]s--even young [[deer]] and [[lamb]]s.<ref name="dfra"/><sup>(p. 9-10)</sup>
Boars are the only hoofed animals known to dig burrows, a habit which can be explained by the fact that they are the only known mammals lacking [[brown adipose tissue]]. Therefore, they need to find other ways to protect themselves from the cold. For the same reason, piglets often shiver to produce heat themselves.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science/news/archive/like_pigs_fascinated_shivering_paper
|title=Shiver Me Piglets!
|author=Catherine Scullion
|publisher=null-hypothesis.co.uk
|quote=Most newborn mammals are kept warm by a reaction in the mitochondria involving brown fat tissue; which converts fats into heat. Pigs lack this mechanism and so shudder in order to maintain their body temperature.
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref>
If surprised or cornered, a boar (and particularly a sow with her piglets) can and will defend itself and its young with intense vigor. The male lowers its head, charges, and then slashes upward with its tusks. The female, which is tuskless, charges with its head up, mouth wide, and bites. Such attacks are not often fatal to humans, but severe trauma, dismemberment, and blood loss can very easily result.
==Range==
===Reconstructed range===
[[Image:Sus scrofa range map.jpg|thumb|250px|Reconstructed range of wild boar (green) and introduced populations (blue)]]
The wild boar was originally found in [[North Africa]] and much of [[Eurasia]] from the [[British Isles]] to [[Japan]] and the [[Sunda Islands]]. In the north it reached southern [[Scandinavia]] and southern [[Siberia]]. Within this range it was absent in extremely dry deserts and [[Alpine climate|alpine]] zones.
A few centuries ago it was found in North Africa along the [[Nile]] valley up to [[Khartum]] and north of the [[Sahara]]. The reconstructed northern boundary of the range in Asia ran from [[Lake Ladoga]] (at 60°N) through the area of [[Novgorod]] and [[Moscow]] into the southern [[Ural (region)|Ural]], where it reached 52°N. From there the boundary passed [[Ishim]] and farther east the [[Irtysh]] at 56°N. In the eastern [[Baraba steppe]] (near [[Novosibirsk]]) the boundary turned steep south, encircled the [[Altai Mountains]], and went again eastward including the [[Tannu-Ola Mountains]] and [[Lake Baikal]]. From here the boundary went slightly north of the [[Amur River]] eastward to its lower reaches at the [[China Sea]]. At [[Sachalin]] there are only [[fossil]] reports of wild boar. The southern boundaries in Europe and Asia were almost everywhere identical to the sea shores of these continents. In dry deserts and high mountain ranges, the wild boar is naturally absent. So it is absent in the dry regions of [[Mongolia]] from 44-46°N southward, in [[China]] westward of [[Sichuan]] and in [[India]] north of the [[Himalaya]]. In high altitudes of [[Pamir]] and [[Tien Shan]] they are also absent; however, at [[Tarim basin]] and on the lower slopes of the Tien Shan they do occur.<ref name="mammals of the soviet union">V. G. Heptner and A. A. Sludskii: ''Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. II, Part 2 CARNIVORA (Hyaenas and Cats)''. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 900408876 8</ref>
===Present range===
In recent centuries, the range of wild boar changed dramatically because of hunting by humans. They probably became extinct in [[Great Britain]] in the 13th century: certainly none remained in southern England by 1610, when King [[James I of England|James I]] reintroduced them to [[Windsor Great Park]]. This attempt failed due to [[poaching]], and later attempts met the same fate. By 1700 there were no wild boar remaining in Britain.
In [[Denmark]] the last boar was shot at the beginning of the 19th century, and in 1900 they were absent in [[Tunisia]] and [[Sudan]] and large areas of [[Germany]], [[Austria]] and [[Italy]]. In [[Russia]] they were extinct in wide areas in the 1930s, and the northern boundary has shifted far to the south, especially in the parts to the west of the [[Altai Mountains]].
By contrast, a strong and growing population of boar has remained in [[France]], where they are hunted for food and sport, especially in the rural central and southern parts of that country.
By 1950 wild boar had once again reached their original northern boundary in many parts of their Asiatic range. By 1960 they reached [[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Moscow]], and by 1975 they were to be found in [[Archangelsk]] and [[Astrakhan]]. In the 1970s they again occurred in Denmark and [[Sweden]], where captive animals escaped and survive in the wild. In the 1990s they migrated into [[Tuscany]] in Italy.
===Status in Britain===
Between then and the 1980s, when wild boar farming began, only a handful of captive wild boar, imported from the continent, were present in Britain. Because wild boar are included in the [[Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976]], certain legal requirements have to be met prior to setting up a farm. A licence to keep boar is required from the local council, who will appoint a specialist to inspect the premises and report back to the council. Requirements include secure accommodation and fencing, correct drainage, temperature, lighting, hygiene, ventilation and insurance. Occasional escapes of wild boar have occurred since the 1970s. Early escapes occurred from Wildlife Parks, but since the early 1990s more escapes have been from farms, the number of which has increased as the demand for wild boar meat has grown. By the 1990s, a breeding population was rumoured to have established in areas of [[Kent]] and [[East Sussex]]. In 1998, a [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food|MAFF]] (now [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|DEFRA]]) study on wild boar living wild in Britain confirmed the presence of two populations of wild boar living in Britain, one in Kent and East Sussex and another in [[Dorset]].<ref name="dfra"/>
==Subspecies==
[[Image:Sus scrofa cristatus Ranthambore 0.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Indian wild boar (''Sus scrofa cristatus'') at [[Ranthambore National Park]]]]
The wild boar is divided into over 12 different subspecies, of which six are present in Europe.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa scrofa'': The most common and most widespread subspecies, its original distribution ranges from France to European Russia. It has been introduced in Sweden, Norway, the USA and Canada.<ref name="Nera">{{it icon}}{{cite book | author= Scheggi, Massimo | title= La Bestia Nera: Caccia al Cinghiale fra Mito, Storia e Attualità | year= 1999 | pages= pp.201 | id=ISBN 8825379048 }}</ref>
*''Sus scrofa baeticus'': A small subspecies present in the Iberian Peninsula.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa castilianus'': Larger than ''baeticus'', it inhabits northern Spain.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa meridionalis'': A small subspecies present in Sardinia.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa majori'': A subspecies smaller than ''scrofa'' with a higher and wider skull. It occurs in central and southern Italy. Since the 1950s, it has hybridized extensively with introduced ''scrofa'' populations.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa attila'': A very large subspecies ranging from Romania, Hungary, in Transylvania and in the Caucuses up to the Caspian Sea. It is thought that boars present in Ukraine, Asia Minor and Iran are part of this subspecies.<ref name="Nera" />
*''Sus scrofa ussuricus'' (northern Asia and [[Japan]])
*''Sus scrofa cristatus'' ([[Asia Minor]], [[India]])
*''Sus scrofa vittatus'' (Indonesia)
*''Sus scrofa taivanus'' (Formosan Wild Boar 台灣野豬(山豬))<ref>[http://www.zoo.gov.tw/exhibit/educent/taiwan/taiwan2.asp Wow, Taipei Zoo! 臺北動物園全球資訊網<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ([[Taiwan]])
The [[domestic pig]] is usually regarded as a further subspecies, ''Sus scrofa domestica'' – but sometimes as a separate species, ''Sus domestica''. Different subspecies can usually be distinguished by the relative lengths and shapes of their [[lacrimal bone]]s. ''S. scrofa cristatus'' and ''S. scrofa vittatus'' have shorter lacrimal bones than European subspecies.<ref name="Domestic">{{cite book | author = Clutton-Brock, Juliet| title = A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals | year = 1987 | pages = pp.208 | isbn = 0521346975}}</ref> [[Spain|Spanish]] and French boar specimens have 36 [[chromosome]]s, as opposed to wild boar in the rest of Europe which possess 38, the same number as domestic pigs. Boars with 36 chromosomes have successfully mated with animals possessing 38, resulting in fertile offspring with 37 chromosomes.<ref>[http://www.britishwildboar.org.uk/profile.html Wild boar profile<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Feral pigs==
[[Image:Wild Pig KSC02pd0873.jpg|thumb|260px|Feral pigs in the United States (here [[Cape Canaveral]], Florida).]]
Domestic pigs quite readily become [[feral]], and feral populations often revert to a similar appearance to wild boar; they can then be difficult to distinguish from natural or introduced true wild boar (with which they also readily interbreed). The characterization of populations as feral pig, escaped domestic pig or wild boar is usually decided by where the animals are encountered and what is known of their history. In [[New Zealand]], for example, feral pigs are known as "Captain Cookers" from their supposed descent from liberations and gifts to [[Māori]] by explorer Captain [[James Cook]] in the 1770s.<ref>{{cite book| last = Horwitz| first = Tony| authorlink = Tony Horwitz| coauthors =| title = [[Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before]]| publisher = Picador| date = 2003| location =| pages = 127| url =| doi =| isbn = 0312422601 }}</ref> New Zealand feral pigs are also frequently known as "tuskers", due to their appearance.
One characteristic by which domestic and feral animals are differentiated is their coats. Feral animals almost always have thick, bristly coats ranging in colour from brown through grey to black. A prominent ridge of hair matching the spine is also common, giving rise to the name ''[[razorback]]'' in the [[southern United States]], where they are common. The tail is usually long and straight. Feral animals tend also to have longer legs than domestic breeds and a longer and narrower head and snout.
A very large swine dubbed [[Hogzilla]] was shot in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia, USA]] in June 2004.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dewan|first=Shaila |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/19/MNGNRBS0E71.DTL
|title=DNA tests to reveal if possible record-size boar is a pig in a poke|publisher=''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''|date=[[2005-03-19]]|accessdate=2007-06-12}}</ref> Initially thought to be a hoax, the story became something of an internet sensation. [[National Geographic Explorer]] investigated the story, sending scientists into the field. After exhuming the animal and performing [[DNA]] testing, it was determined that Hogzilla was a hybrid of wild boar and domestic swine.<ref>{{cite news|last=|first= |url=http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/story?id=599913 |title=The Mystery of Hogzilla Solved|publisher=ABC News|date=[[2005-03-21]] |accessdate=2007-06-12}}</ref>
At the beginning of the 20th century, wild boar were introduced for hunting in the [[United States]], where they interbred in parts with free roaming [[domestic pig]]s. In [[South America]], [[New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]], [[Australia]] and other islands, wild boar have also been introduced by humans and have partially interbred with domestic pigs.
In South America, also during the early 20th century, free-ranging boars were introduced in [[Uruguay]] for hunting purposes and eventually crossed the border into [[Brazil]] sometime during the 1990s, quickly becoming an [[invasive species]], licensed private hunting of both feral boars and hybrids being allowed from August 2005 on in the Southern Brazilian state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]]<ref>www.institutohorus.org.br/download/marcos_legais/INSTRUCAO_NORMATIVA_N_71_04_agosto_2005.pdf</ref>. Releases and escapes from unlicensed farms (established because of increased demand for boar meat as an alternative to [[pork]]), however, continued to bolster feral populations and by mid-2008 licensed hunts had to expanded to the states of [[Santa Catarina]] and [[São Paulo]]<ref>/www.arroiogrande.com/especiais_javali.htm</ref>.
It must be kept in mind that those recently established Brazilian boar populations are not to be confused with long establlished populations of feral pigs (''porcos monteiros''), which have existed mainly in the [[Pantanal]] for more than a hundred years, along with native [[peccaries]]. The demographic dynamics of the interaction between feral pigs populations and those of the two native species of peccaries ([[Collared Peccary]] and [[White-lipped Peccary]]) is obscure and is being studied presently. It has been proposed that the existence of feral pigs could somewhat ease [[jaguar]] predation on peccary populations, as jaguars would show a prefernce for hunting pigs, when these are avaliable<ref>www.cienciahoje.uol.com.br/controlPanel/materia/view/3835</ref>.
As of [[2008]], the estimated population of 4 million feral hogs cause an estimated [[US$]]800 million of property damage a year in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Bacon a Hard Way: Hog-Tying 400 Pounds of Fury
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/sports/othersports/21hogs.html?hp
|first=Michael
|last=Brick
|publisher=The New York Times
|date=2008-06-21}}</ref>
== Natural predators ==
Adult wild boars have few natural [[predation|predators]], though there have been cases of predation from [[tiger]]s.<ref>[http://www.tigers.ru/books/ecolog/ch13_en.html Yudakov, A. G. and I. G. Nikolaev, The Ecology of the Amur Tiger [Chapter 13]<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
[[Wolf|Wolves]] are major predators of boars in some areas. Wolves mostly feed on piglets, though adults have been recorded to be taken in Italy, the Iberian Peninsula and Russia. Wolves rarely attack boars head on, preferring to tear at their [[perinium]], causing loss of coordination and massive [[blood loss]]. In some areas of the former Soviet Union, a single wolf pack can consume an average to 50-80 wild boars annually.<ref name="Graves">{{cite book | author = Graves, Will |url = http://www.wolvesinrussia.com/ | title = Wolves in Russia: Anxiety throughout the ages | year = 2007 | pages = pp.222 | id = ISBN 1550593323}}</ref> In areas of Italy where the two animals are sympatric, the extent with which boars are preyed upon by wolves has lead to them developing more agressive behaviour toward both wolves and dogs.<ref name="Nera" />
[[Striped hyena]]s occasionally feed on boars, though it has been suggested that only hyenas from the three larger subspecies present in Northwest Africa, the Middle East and India can successfully kill them.<ref name="Striped">{{cite web | url = http://www.hyaena.ge/striped.htm | title = Striped Hyaena ''Hyaena (Hyaena) hyaena'' (Linnaeus, 1758) | publisher = IUCN Species Survival Commission Hyaenidae Specialist Group | accessdate = 2008-05-21 | month = May | year = }}</ref>
==Commercial use==
The hair of the boar was often used for the production of the [[toothbrush]] until the invention of synthetic materials in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://1800dentist.com/encyclopedia/default.aspx?ContentID=205
|title=Dental Encyclopedia
|publisher=1800dentist.com
|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref> The hair for the bristles usually came from the neck area of the boar. While such brushes were popular because the bristles were soft, this was not the best material for [[oral hygiene]] as the hairs were slow to dry and usually retained bacteria. Today's toothbrushes are made with plastic bristles.
Boar hair is used in the manufacture of boar-bristle hairbrushes, which are considered to be gentler on hair--and much more expensive--than common plastic-bristle hairbrushes.
Boar hair is used in the manufacture of paintbrushes, especially those used for oil painting. Boar bristle paintbrushes are stiff enough to spread thick paint well, and the naturally split or "flagged" tip of the untrimmed bristle helps hold more paint.
Despite claims that boar bristles have been used in the manufacture of premium [[dart board]]s for use with steel-tipped darts, these boards are, in fact, made of other materials and fibers – the finest ones from sisal rope.
In many countries, boar are farmed for their meat, and in countries such as France, for example, boar (''sanglier'') may often be found for sale in butcher shops or offered in restaurants (although the consumption of wild boar meat has been linked to transmission of [[Hepatitis E]] in Japan).<ref>{{cite journal |author=Li T-C, Chijiwa K, Sera N, Ishibashi T, Etoh Y, Shinohara Y, et al.|title=Hepatitis E Virus Transmission from Wild Boar Meat|journal=Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]|year=2005 |url=http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no12/05-1041.htm}}</ref>
==Mythology, fiction and religion==
[[Image:Varahadev.jpg|right|thumb|260px|Deity form of [[Varaha]], [[Khajuraho]], 12th C AD]]
In [[Greek mythology]], two boars are particularly well known. The [[Erymanthian Boar]] was hunted by [[Heracles]] as one of his [[Twelve Labours]], and the [[Calydonian Boar]] was hunted in the ''Calydonian Hunt'' by dozens of other mythological heroes, including some of the [[Argonauts]] and the huntress [[Atalanta]].
In [[Celtic mythology]] the boar was sacred to the goddess [[Arduinna]],<ref> [http://www.isle-of-skye.org.uk/celtic-encyclopaedia/celt_b2b.htm Celtic Encyclopaedia]</ref><ref> [http://www.les-ardennes.net/images/photos/arduina.jpg les-ardennes.net]</ref> and boar hunting features in several stories of Celtic and [[Irish mythology]]. One such story is that of how [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]] ("Finn McCool") lured his rival [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]] to his death - gored by a wild boar.
[[Ares]], the Greek god of war, had the ability to transform himself into a wild boar, and even gored his son to death in this form to prevent the young man from growing too attractive and stealing his wife, similar to [[Oedipus]] marrying his own mother.
The [[Norse mythology|Norse]] gods [[Freyr]] and [[Freyja]] both had boars. Freyr's boar was named [[Gullinbursti]] ("Golden Mane"), who was manufactured by the dwarf [[Sindri (mythology)|Sindri]] due to a bet between Sindri's brother [[Brokkr]] and [[Loki]]. The bristles in Gullinbursti's mane glowed in the dark to illuminate the way for his owner. Freya rode the boar [[Hildesvini]] (Battle Swine) when she was not using her cat-drawn chariot. According to the poem ''[[Hyndluljóð]]'', Freyja concealed the identity of her protégé [[Óttar (mythology)|Óttar]] by turning him into a boar. In Norse mythology, the boar was generally associated with fertility.
In [[Iran|Persia (Iran)]] during the [[Sassanid Empire]], boars were respected as fierce and brave creatures, and the adjective "Boraz (Goraz)" (meaning boar) was sometimes added to a person's name to show his bravery and courage. The famous Sassanid [[spahbod]], [[Shahrbaraz]], who conquered [[Egypt]] and the [[Levant]], had his name derived ''Shahr(city) + Baraz(boar like/brave)'' meaning "Boar of the City".{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
In [[Hindu mythology]], the third [[avatar]] of the [[Lord Vishnu]] was [[Varaha]], a boar.
In [[Chinese horoscope]] the [[pig (zodiac)|boar]] (sometimes also translated as ''pig''), is one of the twelve animals of the zodiac, based on the legends about its creation, either involving [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] or the [[Jade Emperor]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
In the ''[[Asterix]]'' comic series, wild boar are the favourite food of [[Obelix]] whose immense appetite means that he can eat several roasted boar in a single sitting.
==Heraldry and other symbolic use==
{{Main|Boars in heraldry}}
The wild boar and a boar's head are common [[charge (heraldry)|charges]] in [[heraldry]]. It represents what are often seen as the positive qualities of the boar, namely courage and fierceness in battle.
== See also ==
* [[List of pigs]]
* [[Boar hunting]]
== References ==
{{commons|Sus scrofa}}
{{wikispecies|Sus scrofa}}
{{reflist}}
{{Artiodactyla|S.}}
{{North American Game}}
{{Heraldic creatures}}
[[Category:Pigs]]
[[Category:Megafauna of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Pakistan]]
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