Wild Boar Sus scrofa

The Wild Boar is the ancestor of the domestic pig and is native to much of Eurasia.

It was hunted to extinction in the UK in the Middle Ages but has been reintroduced into the wild in some areas in recent years (1990s). It is also farmed for meat.

As expected from an animal with such a large geographic range, there are many subspecies of Wild Boar with slightly different appearance. Those shown are in the UK (nominal subspecies).

Boars have thick fur (used by people as bristles for brushes). Males have tusks and, like domestic pigs, are called hogs, females are sows and the young are piglets.

The piglets have striped fur - lengthways.