Photos of Wild Pigs by Yvonne van der Mey

Wild Pigs are fascinating animals, large, heavy, very intelligent and often very funny to watch. A wild boar can weigh as much as 150 kg or more; they often have long and impressive teeth that can inflict nasty wounds while battling over a female. The sows often group together, especially when their piglets are a few weeks old; they are very sociable and we have often seen them taking care of each other's piglets. They can have as many as 8 to 12 piglets in one litter, and when conditions are good they can produce two litters a year.

Wild Pigs are onmivores and eat anything that they find, from insects and worms to berries, roots and acorns. They don't roam freely through our country, like Roe deers, and their presence is restricted to certain wildlife areas. Most of them can be found on De Veluwe. The main reason being the big impact from encounters between Wild Pigs and people. If a car hits a fully grown male, the car is a write-off. And a single Wild Pig can redesign a garden completely overnight.

They are however the easiest wild animal for people to see in wildlife areas. But more often, you see their presence in the woods instead of seeing them. When a path has been rooted up, you can be sure that wild pigs have been there. They leave a very strong specific smell, like the smell of stock cubes (Maggi).

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