Sorry about the pun there, but the Forest of Dean is famous for two mammals. The Wild Boars and Bears, but I would not recommend asking the locals about Bears and ‘who killed these Bears,’ so this blog is all about the Wild Boars (Sus scrofa). So, I will give you a brief history of them before I begin.
The earliest evidence of Wild Boar in Britain can be traced back at least 700,000 years ago to the Paleolithic age. Still, we do not know how important these prey species were to our human ancestors compared to the archaeological evidence from the Mesolithic age where their remains are commonly found with the native Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) at their settlement sites. The introduction of the domestic pig (Sus domesticus) in the Neolithic period muddied the waters of archaeology finds as the remains are remarkably similar in structure and hard to distinguish. Wild Boars would become part of our ancestor’s psyche and landscape throughout our ancient landscape and lives until their virtual extinction from our land. They were hunted to extinction in Ireland by the 12th century, in Scotland they were also hunted to extinction by the 13th century and in England & Wales, they were also hunted to extinction in the 16th century.
Wild Boars were recorded as plentiful in the Forest of Dean during the 12th and 13th Centuries, only being hunted by the nobility. No records exist of population numbers, but the population was sufficiently large to withstand 512 Boars being dispatched to Royal households during the 12th Century. Britain's last free-living wild boar was extirpated approximately seven hundred years ago. The location of the previous genuine wild boar is unclear; the Forest of Dean, along with the Forest of Pickering, is the last refuge. In the Forest of Dean, records exist showing King Henry III ordering two hundred wild Boars for Christmas dinner in 1251, with a further dozen being ordered in 1260. In 1282 records show that no boar could be found in the Forest of Dean for the King’s table. As boar were an important species for hunting there are historical records of some attempts at re-establishing them within hunting preserves and parks. Wild boar farms were even present in the 17th Century. This has led to confusion as to the date of their ultimate disappearance. However, it is accepted that free-living boars were absent from the UK wild from the end of the 16th Century. An increase in wild boar farming because of farm diversification lies at the heart of this species' re-emergence within the UK. The farming of wild boar in Britain became fashionable in the 1970s but was not particularly profitable. In 1999, the boar escaped or were released from a farm near Ross-on-Wye. In 2004 a group of about sixty farm-raised boars were dumped near Staunton. Boars are now feral throughout the Forest of Dean.
To the Anglo-Saxons, the Celts and the Vikings, these fierce wild boars were a symbol of strength and fertility. Its image adorned their helmets. It was ceremonially eaten along with apples at the mid-winter feast. In the Bronze Age, the boar with its crescent-shaped tusks was seen as symbolic of the Great Goddess. It reflected her three personae of battle-goddess, mother-goddess and finally, as ‘The Great Sow,’ the devourer - the symbol of death. The etymology of the boar is complex. There seem to be two words in Old English specifically for the Wild Boar. These are Eofor (“Ever”) and Bár. Eofor, which is cognate with the Old High German ebur and the Old Norse jór / jöfur, derives from the Proto-Germanic eburaz, which in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European epuros. This is also the source of the Latin aper - meaning ‘a wild boar.’ Our modern English word ‘boar’ comes from the Old English bár. from West-Germanic bairaz. This is said to be of unknown origin with no cognates outside West Germanic. It is tempting to derive it from the Proto-Indo-European root b(h) ars/bars - “bristling.”
The modern English term ‘hog’ comes from Old English hogg. This is thought to be from Old Norse höggva - to chop or cut.
“Ac byþ on eorþan elda bearnum flæsces fodor, fereþ gelome.”
The Oak fattens the flesh (of swine) as food for the sons of men.
With over sixty words related to ‘pig,’ swine are among the best-represented animals in the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. Indeed, an Anglo-Saxon could distinguish between fōr, pecg, swīn (all ‘pig’), sū/sugu (‘sow’), bār, gealt (both’ boar’), hogg/hocg (‘hogg’), fearh and picga (both ‘young pig’); next, he could pick from a host of ‘special pigs’, including gilte (‘barren sow’), bearg ‘castrated boar’, mæstelberg ‘fattened hog’ and fēdelsswīn (swine fattened for killing). There were at least seven words for ‘swine pasture’ (denbǣre, denberende, denn, mæsten, mæstland, swīnland and wealdbǣr) and various words for swineherd (e.g., swān and swīnhyrde), pigsty (hlōse, sulig, swīnhaga) and even a word for pig-fence (swīnhege). Then there was the non-domesticated variety, the wild boar (bār, eofor, eoforswīn, wildeswīn) that had to be hunted with a boar-spear (eofor-spere, eofor-sprēot) and the Anglo-Saxons even saw boars when they looked up at the sky (their name for the constellation Orion is eofor-þring ‘boar-crowd’) or down at the plants near their feet (eofor-fearn ‘Polypody fern; lit. boar-fern’; eofor-þrote ‘Carline thistle; boar-throat’). Swine were appreciated, of course, for their meat, which is also well represented in the Old English lexicon: swīn, swīnflǣsc, swīnnes, flicce, spic, scencel/scencen. This meat would undoubtedly be stored in the pantry, which they called the spic-hūs: ‘the bacon-house.’ Not all bacon would be in the bacon-house, however: some of it was offered to the gods. This much is at least suggested by the word offrung-spic ‘bacon offered to idols.
Sorry to Boar you on the historic subject but I thought an introduction to the wild Boar would be helpful.
Here are some facts about the wild boar:
Species: Sus scrofa
Genus Meaning: Sus is Latin for Pig
Species Meaning: scrofa is Latin for Sow
Family: Suidae (The Pig Family)
Forest of Dean population: Estimated to be around 513 in 2024/25 from the last survey.
Collective Term: Sounder
Weight of female boar (Sow): 80 - 120 kg
Weight of male boar (Boar): 100 - 175 kg
Life Span: Up to 14 years.
Sexual maturity of females: 8 - 15 months
Sexual maturity of males: 7 - 10 months
Height at the shoulder (varies with age/sex): 55cm – 1.1m
Length of body (varies with age/sex): 90cm – 1.8m
Litters per Year (Piglets/Boarlets): one, very rarely two
Average Litter Size: 4-6 This is twice as many as their continental Cousins.
Age of Weaning: 6 – 12 weeks
Weight of a piglet at birth: 0.4 - 0.8 kg
Length of gestation: 120 days
Speed: They can run up to 30 mph
Coats: Wild boars have a dense coat of coarse bristles which vary in colour based on the age of the animal. Piglets are born with a softer coat of brown and yellow stripes which is reflected in their nickname of ‘humbugs.’ These stripes are often used as camouflage against the forest floor to hide them from any predators or threats. At the age of 3-4 months, they outgrow their stripes, moult, and take on their first adult coat of uniform reddish brown and as they get older and mature further the coat darkens and becomes deep brown/black. The males will grow a Mohican-type ridge along their back, while the females will not have this feature.
Tusks: Contrary to belief, both male and female wild boar have tusks present. Male wild boar grows tusks from about 2 years and have both upper and lower tusks. The top tusk is hollow and used by the lower tusks to keep sharp. Tusks on a male can reach over 6cm, however on a female they only grow to half this size females only have lower tusks and they do not protrude like male ones do.
Track Signs: The Boars broad, heavy rounded cloven-hoofed track is usually accompanied by its dew claws at the rear, which our Deer species rarely leave in the substrates. In Wild Boar the dewclaw prints sit wider than the hoof print giving the entire track a trapezoid outline. If Deer do leave signs of their dew claws they would be sitting behind the main hoof mark, creating a more rectangular outline.
Eyesight: Wild boars have extremely poor eyesight and rely on their hearing, and an excellent sense of smell, to alert them to a threat. Whilst they can see movement it is not until they approach us that they realize what we are. If a wild boar approaches you, it is certainly just trying to see what you are, and once they have, they usually give a ‘snort’ and run off.
Breeding: Known as the Farrowing Times the Sows will give birth once a year, very rarely twice, please do not believe all the headlines which state wild boars give birth three times a year to fifteen piglets each time, this is simply not true and virtually biologically impossible. Sows are understandably wary when they have young; the average number of piglets is 4-6 per sow per year. It is possible to see wild boars’ group together in “sounders” when three or more sows with up to eighteen or more piglets in their group.
Rubbing Post: After wallowing, wild boars will rub themselves up against things. Look for muddy bases to trees or poles. Wild boars will also use these posts to keep their tusks sharp.
Wallows: Wild boars will wallow in mud to control their temperature and rid their hair of parasites. Look for smooth hollows in wet ground. Rooting turfs of grass are turned over as the wild boar root for food. This can positively affect the soil and other surrounding wildlife, especially in winter as it helps birds/small mammals feed when the ground is frozen.
Food: Wild Boars are Omnivores and will eat everything they come across and will enjoy a variety of foods. They are like very fast mini diggers with their powerful neck muscles and long snouts ploughing up woodlands, verges and grasslands in pursuit of food.
Droppings: Droppings are sausage-shaped and are black when fresh, they will break into small droppings and turn grey over time.
As for food: Just like our domestic Pigs the Wild Boars are treated the same way for food preparations and their meat and sausages can be found in a variety of butchers and local eateries around the Forest of Dean and I would highly recommend trying some of these locally wild-sourced meat products if you ever in the Forest of Dean area.
Where to Look for them: I am lucky to be based in the Cannop area which is in the middle-ish of the Forest of Dean, so seeing Wild Boars is a frequent occurrence for us all and their telltale signs are ever present to us. So, the surrounding areas of Cannop are ideal places to find signs, traces and boars themselves and nearly all the forest land around Cannop belongs to the Forest Commission/England so it is all free to enjoy, but a word of warning some of their car parking charges in certain areas are a bit of eye-watering expensive. There are, however, many lay-bys and pull-in areas that won’t cost you a penny also up by the historic speech house there are free parking areas for their woodlands.
Please be aware of the following:
Do not feed the Wild Boars. This keeps them in the forest and prevents them from becoming tame.
Take any food and litter away with you so the Wild Boars cannot find it.
Keep your dog under close control and on a lead if it cannot be called to heel. Wild Boars are strong animals, and some have tusks and can fight if they feel threatened, particularly if they have their young with them. If your dog chases a Wild Boar stay at a safe distance and continue to call your dog back, do not approach the boar or interfere.
Do not walk through dense undergrowth. Staying on the main tracks and pathways will allow the boar to feel safe at their breeding and resting sites and make it less likely that sows with young get spooked or become defensive.
Boar loves to feed along road verges and will also often cross the roads just like our Deer species will do. So, keep to the road speeds or slower to avoid colliding with the boars. If you see one, slow down and expect more to cross the road.
Further Information:
For more in-depth research on the Wild Boars in the forest of Dean I would recommend reading the following:
Deer Initiative’s best practice guide ‘Wild Boar Legislation’ www.wild-boar.org.uk
University of Worcester ‘The Social Aspects of Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean’
Distance sampling / thermal image survey reports from Forest Research.