Wild Boar: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Hooves and Horns · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. A boar's huge head works like a plough. It can dig 8 to 10 cm into frozen ground and flip over rocks of 40 to 50 kg.
2. Its nose is so good that wild boars are used to sniff out drugs in Germany. Its eyesight is weak, though, and it sees no colours.
3. Piglets copy their mother's voice, so each litter may have its own way of calling. Happy boars even purr while they eat.
4. Striped piglets have a clever defence: at the first sign of danger they hide or freeze, trusting their pale-banded coat to keep them unseen.
5. Wild boars are strong swimmers. In 2013, one was reported to have swum 11 km from France across the sea to the island of Alderney.

The quiz

1. What does a wild boar use its head for?

• Cracking ice on lakes
• Climbing trees
• Digging like a plough (correct)
• Carrying its piglets

Its large head acts as a plough to turn over soil.

2. Which sense is the wild boar's best?

• Smell (correct)
• Colour vision
• Night vision
• Taste

Its sense of smell is so good it is used for drug detection in Germany.

3. Why might each litter of piglets sound a bit different?

• They learn from birds
• They copy their mother (correct)
• They are born mute
• They only squeal at night

Piglets imitate their mother's sounds, so litters may have unique calls.

4. What do piglets do when they sense danger?

• Run into the water
• Climb onto their mother
• Call loudly for help
• Hide or stay very still (correct)

They take cover or freeze and rely on their camouflage.

5. How far did a wild boar reportedly swim in 2013?

• 11 km (correct)
• 100 m
• 300 km
• 1 km

It was reported to have swum 11 km from France to Alderney.

More about the Wild Boar

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries