Wild boar is distributed throughout the
island wherever dry zone scrub lands or wet zone forests provides it with enough
cover, from coastal lowlands to the higher hills. It occurs in herds sometime up
to around 30 or more individuals in dry zone national parks while rather small
herds or solitary animals occurs in wet zone forests. It is an omnivorous mammal and scavenge on carcasses of dead animals, kill and eat snakes, worms, eggs and
young of ground-nesting birds and also feeds on fallen fruits and uprooted
rhizomes etc. It causes lot of damages to the chena cultivation, paddy fields,
home gardens and other plantations during its night time forays in search of food.
Wild boar is a prolific animal and breeds at least twice annually and W.W.A.
Phillips noted that it is always the last of the larger mammals to be ousted
from a district where the forest is being opened up (Phillips W.W.A, 1984). Generally the herds are composed of sows with
their young of all ages and the older adult males live solitary or form small
parties on their own and join the herds of females only to the mating. They feed
usually early morning and late afternoon while lying up in a shade during heat
hours of the day. It also feeds during night. Leopards, crocodiles and pythons
can be considered as its enemies other than Man. Leopards mostly take
young piglets whenever the opportunity occurs and there are instances of
desperate fights between leopard and old boars sometimes end up with leopard being killed.
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