World of the Wild Boar Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sus scrofa

'Scrofa' is Latin for 'sow'.

The wild boar is part of the Suidae family and is the most widespread member of this family throughout the world. Largely due to this, the wild boar is on the IUCN Red List of least concern species.

Answer: 16

These subspecies are divided into groups, based on the length of the lacrimal bone (a small facial skeleton bone) and skull height.

Answer: False

Adult male wild boar are solitary animals - apart from during breeding season.

There is a matriarchal way of life among groups of wild boar. Groups of female wild boar and their female relatives live together. A group of wild boar is called a sounder. Males will stay with the sounder until they are around one year old.

Answer: True

Wild boar became extinct in the wild of the UK in the 17th century. Up until 1980, there were no wild boar in either the wild or the zoos of the UK. Wild boar farming took off in the UK around this time, and by the early 1980s some wild boar had escaped from zoos and begun to breed in the wild. They are now found in the wild in some areas of the UK, such as Weald and the Forest of Dean.

The White Boar was an emblem of King Richard III who reigned England from 1483-85.

Answer: Their sweat is so foul it is known to repel other animals from water, when they wallow

Wild boars love to wallow in water and mud because pigs are incapable of sweating.

Wild boar not only have an excellent sense of smell, they also have excellent hearing. They communicate with each other with a variety of grunts, squeaks and chirps.

Answer: True

Wild boars lack the adipose tissue where the cellular reactions result in the conversion of fats into heat. Therefore they burrow to protect themselves from the cold. They can also sleep in the burrows.

They also dig to find roots and insects. Because of their regular digging habit the wild boar is considered a pest in some areas, causing considerable property damage. They have even been known to dig up graveyards.

Answer: Komodo dragon

Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru are islands of Indonesia where wild boar are found. Indonesia is located in the Southwestern Pacific, Maritime Southeast Asia.

Komodo dragons are apex predators. Their bites have been proven to secrete an anticoagulant, or blood thinner.

Answer: Mane

The Indian boar has smaller, pointier ears and although it is taller than its European relative, its build is lighter. Its mane is a highly distinguishable feature, which runs from its head to lower body. The Indian boar has a straighter and sharper skull, and has more height and less hair than the European boar.

The Indian boar is found in India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and in the west of Thailand. The ancient Hindu deity Indra is said to have killed a wild boar for stealing the treasure of the asuras, a group of demigods of the Hindu religion.

Answer: The mane straightens

When a wild boar is threatened or annoyed its mane straightens, making the boar look larger and stockier than it is. Manes vary between the subspecies of wild boar with some manes being more pronounced and striking than others.

The skin is thick enough to protect the boar from insect and viper bites. The skin is covered with patches of body fat but with very little blood supply. During Spring the wild boar's coat is a lighter colour.

Answer: False

Compared to its sense of smell, which is so keen that wild boar have been used as drug detection animals in Germany, and hearing, the wild boar has poor eyesight. It lacks colour vision.