Wild Boar

The wild boar is a bulky, massively built pig with short, relatively thin legs. The neck is short and thick, the head very large, up to a third of the body length, and shaped for digging, so that powerful neck muscles let it upturn soil and even rocks. Males are typically 5 to 10 per cent larger and 20 to 30 per cent heavier than females, carry a mane down the back and have canines that grow throughout life, the lower ones sharper and longer. Size depends strongly on habitat. In most of Europe males average 75 to 100 kg, and these are general species figures, not Sri Lankan measurements (Wikipedia, general species account).

The coat is coarse bristles over short downy fur, and colour varies widely. Piglets are light or rusty brown with pale bands. Boars live in groups of related females and their young, while adult males are usually solitary outside the breeding season. It is a highly versatile omnivore that digs up roots, tubers and bulbs, and eats nuts, berries, leaves, invertebrates, small vertebrates and carrion. Its sense of smell is very well developed, its hearing acute and its eyesight comparatively weak. Nationally Least Concern (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).