Cute boarlets at Wildwood

Photo: Wildwood

Harriet, Wildwood's wild boar, has produced a litter of two boarlets a few weekends ago.

Proud father, Boris, a magnificent 400 lbs Wild Boar, is something of a local celebrity after his many TV appearances on 'Richard & Judy', Sir David Attenborough's 'The Life of Mammals', National News, Blue Peter and many more.

Wildwood Trust is campaigning to save the wild cousins of Boris the wild boar from being hunted to extinction. Wildwood Trust has asked the Government to legalise the status of this animal and let it take its rightful place in the British Countryside, helping to restore our natural woodlands.

Wild boar form an integral part of the historic landscape of Britain and help woodland flowers, insects, animals and trees regenerate creating countryside richer in wildlife. We have been lobbying hard to ensure Wild boar are given a chance to regain their natural place in our woodlands to help our children enjoy a woodland landscape rich in flowers, butterflies and birds.

Last year saw some success for the lobbying on the status of wild boar in the UK with DEFRA publishing its "wild boar action plan" which set down clear guidelines as to the control of wild boar in the countryside.

If you make a visit to Wildwood over the next few days, you should be able to see the piglets.

Our sow, Harriet, prepared to give birth by constructing a nest of branches into which the babies were be born. The first piglets born choose a teat near their mother's head so that they had a better chance of attracting her attention.

The piglets are be born with stripes and these help to camouflage them in the undergrowth. The litter stays in the nest for about 10 days. The young are suckled for about 12 weeks before they are completely weaned onto food, which they find while rooting around with their mother.

Wild boar are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 7820087.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.

Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782008.

Photo: Ian Taylor

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 female or sow bears litters of 3 to 12 striped young in a nest hidden in thick brush.

Some facts concerning the Wild Boar:

• 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.

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.