| Wild boar facts The European Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), ancestor of the domesticated pig, is the largest of the present-day wild hogs - the males or boars sometimes reaching a height of 40 inches at the shoulder and a weight of 350 pounds. A male wild boar is armed with a pair of large sharp strong tusks, the upper canine teeth, which curve outward and upward, reaching a length of ten inches in old age. · The wild boar has a gregarious nature and is mainly woodland dwelling. · Wild boar mainly feed on deer truffles, acorns, nuts, tubers, insects, earthworms and some carrion. · Vocalisations are very important, and wild boar are constantly grunting and chirruping to each other, and squeal when alarmed. · Wild boar are usually not dangerous and do not attack other animals and people. However, they can be very aggressive, especially females with young, or injured animals. · Wild boar are naturally timid and (normally!) run away at the sight of people. · Wild boar have a life span of between 15 and 20 years. A history of wild boar in Britain The date at which wild boar finally became extinct in Britain is unclear due to subsequent attempts at re-introduction. In continental Europe, wild boar were (and still are) widely distributed and attempts were made in the 18th and 19th centuries to re-introduce animals to Britain from abroad, initially into private estates for hunting purposes. James 1st released animals firstly from France and then from Germany into Windsor Park in 1608 and 1611 respectively. His son, Charles 1st (reigned 1625-1649), also released boar into the New Forest from Germany. It is thought that the original British wild boar were probably extinct by the 13th century, and the re-introduced animals became extinct during the 17th century. Between the 17th century and the 1980's, when wild boar farming began, only a handful of captive wild boar, imported from the continent as zoo exhibits, were present in Britain. Until very recently, no free-living wild boar (native or introduced) have been present in Britain for the last 300 years.
CONTACT Wildwood Trust: +44(0)1227 712 111 Peter Smith: peter@wildwoodtrust.org or 07986 828229 Dan Farrow: dan.farrow@wildwoodtrust.org or 01227 209617 Wildwood Trust, Herne Common, Herne Bay, Nr Canterbury, Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No. 1093702 FOLLOW US Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildwoodTrust Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust ABOUT WILDWOOD Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002. Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more. As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK, Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife. Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct. | 
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