looduskalender.ee

Wild boar

 

 

The northern boundary of wild boar has varied over times. During the 17th-19th century (Little Ice Age) wild boars did not occur in Estonia. The severe winters made getting food impossible. At the same time the number of wolves was high.

 

Wild boars returned to Estonia in the 1929s. Their numbers remained low for a long time, ranging from some ten to a few hundred individuals. By the 1960s wolves were practically eradicated in Estonia and at about the same time hunters started to provide wild boar with extra food in winter. The number of wild boar increased radically. In 1975 8000 wild boar were recorded in Estonia.

 

According to ancient Greek mythology the goddess of hunting, Artemis, sent a huge wild boar as punishment to the people of Arcadia. Capturing it was one of Hercules’s 12 labours.  People have brought pigs into every corner of the globe. Today they are held to be one of the 100 worst alien species. They cause changes in plant communities, decline of the local fauna and even the extinction of species.

 

In Estonia the wild boar is a native species but its numbers must be controlled. Having more than 4-5 individuals per 1000 hectares is not reasonable.