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When such a “boy with a tool“ has managed to battle out a place for himself in the herd then he will also mate with the sows in heat. The older male boars lead a solitary life and join the herd only during the mating period; the younger males, up to a few years old, are driven off from the flock. The fight for power between the males can sometimes be quite violent. A thick under-skin shield, made up of connective tissue, helps to reduce injuries from the fight. It protects against rival attacks with the upwards-turned, pointed tusks.

 

Male boars habitually mark their territory by drawing furrows in the bark of trees and leaving scratch marks on the trunks; the smell is very powerful.

 

Yesterday just before 7.30 pm the male in the screen capture mated with the biggest sow in the herd. The sow stood quite meekly in place: a sexual pheromone in the breath of the male has a “nailing in place“ effect.