The wild boar which comes from the boar family is a rudimentary and coarse animal. It can adapt to all kinds of habitats, from the European snowy woods to the warmer Argentine pampas in South America.

The wild boar arrived in this region around 1906, as a springboard to colonize large stretches of Argentine territory, going beyond provincial borders.

A nocturnal animal, the wild boar spends most of the day resting in its “den” often located in the middle of the underbrush.

Its activity begins at sunset. This is the time to roam the brush, covering long distances in search of food or drink.

An interesting fact about the wild boar is that it is omnivorous, which it makes a point of emphasizing by eating everything at hand, be it cultivated fields, brush beans or apples as well as dead cattle and everything it finds in its way.

It loves to wallow in the mud as a way of cooling off in hot weather or as a protective cover against irritating insects.

It has poor eyesight which is just as well in its daytime activities since it doesn’t need to focus on any particular object. In contrast, its sense of hearing and smell are highly developed, which enables it to trace sources of food and detect potential threats.

It is known to be jealous and suspicious, especially the grown-up male which becomes highly cautious before approaching a pond or wallowing area.

These precautions could entail a leeway approach or a roundabout. Anyway it is unusual for the male to enter the pond first: it is the female or its young that do so while the male waits to make sure there is no danger.

Another example of its survival instinct is its habit of alternating night and day sites, without sticking to a fixed routine, taking advantage of the surprise factor.

It is not uncommon to find interbreeding with farm pigs, which goes against the purity of the species. Anyway, the “wild” genes are the strongest and after several generations the basic features of the wild boar stand out.

Among the most salient features are its ears; while the pig has big drooping ears the wild boar’s are smaller and erect.

The wild boar’s snout is more pointed and slender. Of course, color is very different and so is body build. It is interesting to mention that the wild boar is extremely agile, though it may not seem so. It can reach high speeds on open land, but it is at its best when covering the thickest parts of the shrub where nothing can stand in its way.

In a nutshell, an exceptional animal.