By: T. Michael

The pure Eurasian wild boar genetically is the real and original old world swine!  It’s roots can be traced back through several millennia and in fact during pre-historic times there was actually a wild boar which stood nearly 6′ at the shoulders weighing in at almost 2,000 lbs.  Man, that would be a lot of pork for the dinner table!

The defensive grouping which you see here in the photo at the side of this page is indicative of their Old World genetic predisposition and wild trait’s. This sort of behavior will not be seen in modern Feral/Domestic swine and is more closely related to an African plains animals defensive posturing.

This particular sounder of Eurasians were being confronted by dogs here, and grouped together like this and  also by placing the smaller, younger animals inside the center of the herd they were successful at repelling any attacks from the dogs. And in fact one of the dogs was seriously injured by a hog here and had to be rushed to emergency veterinary care.  And that dog was also wearing a protective vest!  The ferocity of these animals is by far the most fascinating thing to witness and none of the hogs in this group would have been more than 100 lbs. at the time.  Also, just for reference should you find yourself in a similar situation, had there been any large Toothy Boar in this group you would not have seen me waving and smiling on the other side like that. I most likely would have been sh*#tin’ and gittin’ it outa’ there with that boar hot on my tail!

Any experienced hunter of wild boar will tell you that a group of Feral Swine will scatter in several different directions when confronted with danger or facing a predator. This Flight Mode is one of the reasons why Feral/Domestic swine have become so successful at proliferating and increasing their numbers as they have done over the years.  They  most certainly will  Run away to breed another day. And I have been witness to feral sows leaving behind their suckling piglets when confronted and not come back for them at all!  And then yours truly here had to rescue those abandoned babies.

The Eurasian wild swine is a 36 chromosome animal while its Domestic and Feral cousins are a 38 chromosome animal. This genetic difference also lends itself to a much different mentality (much more aggressive) than a domestic/feral swine.  And while the two can and obviously do interbreed, the resulting offspring will be a genetically mixed litter of piglets ranging from 36, 37 to 38 chromosome animals.

The meat is a darker and rich colored red while being much more flavorful, along with 0% fat marbling as opposed to domestic/feral swine meat. Also, in fine restaurants around the world wild boar meat which comes from animals that have been feeding upon the mast (natural occurring seeds and grains) and in particular: ACORNS, is much sought after and commands a higher dollar value per LB. than any other swine meat. Hank Shaw over at Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook has cooked up some great tasting wild boar for us out at the ranches.

Another difference is the size of the eyeball itself  thus hampering their ability to see as clearly as the domestic/feral swine do. Take a close look at how small the eye is in the pictured Eurasian Boar here compared to its feral cousins. I also have personally witnessed domestic/feral swine clearly spotting me stalking them at over 100 yards out. The Eurasian wild swine cannot see very well beyond 25 yards.

Long Snout, Gently Sloping Stop, Crested Ridge Back. Are some of the outward Eurasian wild boar characteristics. These photos were taken at Native Hunt where we have free ranged, pure Eurasian Wild Boar.