Sus scrofa
About
Sus scrofa ssp. domesticus is the variety of pig that has made its way around the world under the name of Domesticated Pig or House Pig. While pigs make great pets, are highly intelligent and will bond with humans quickly and for life, they are also considered food in many cultures. A lot of leather products are made from pig leather, too. A 600 pound Landrace Pig stems from the same variety as the 100 pound Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig.
The Central European Wildboar, Sus scrofa scrofa, has been hunted for thousands of years and seems to be the common ancestor for most of the domesticated pigs around the world today. Findings suggest, they may have been domesticated over 15.000 years ago. Wild boars have been and are still hunted not only for food but also for sports. They do however tend to fight back in a fair fight that usually breaks out over humans carelessly wandering into their territory in the woods during the spring months from February to May when they care for their young. Between the year 2000 and 2019 wild boars caused 172 fatalities across 29 countries.
Sam says
While all pigs make for great parents who will guard their offspring as aggressively as their wild ancestors, they are able to trust humans with helping them raise the piglets when living in captivity or as pets sharing a shed or apartment with people. However, I personally have seen that happen wild boars, too. The Raptor Center and Wildlife Park Hellenthal has a play pen in which children can touch and pet wild boar piglets under the watchful eyes of their parents that are closed off from that area for the safety of human children.
Wild boars are not easily spotted in dense vegetation but they can be heard and mostly smelled from afar. They have caused me to turn around on several hikes. You usually see a few damaged trees, trampled down saplings and mud pits before you stumble upon the actual sounder, which is what a family of squeaking wild boars is called. It is genuinely hard to be surprised by them, which makes me wonder if a good part of accidents around running into wild boars is caused by people trying to befriend them - or shoo them away.
Over the last few years a hill I walk past a few times a week has been closed off to people every spring, because boars like to use it as a raised post for their kindergarden groups. Yet people have been going up there with their dogs unleashed and thus have been getting into trouble with the pigs. Wild boars are also known to walk through cities, use traffic crossings or ransack camping grounds.
When I was a child, we had a scruffy grey wild boar hide hanging up on our kitchen wall and at some point it moved to the ground in my own apartment, where my cat tore off the tail and then eventually it ended up in the trash after easily 30 years in our family, when bugs got to it.
