Telling a boar from a sow

Male wild boar

 

 

The differences between the sexes among wild boar are stronger the older the animal is.

 

Piglets remain striped until their fourth month. While the weight at birth of a piglet is 1 kilo, at half a year they weigh 20-30 kilos already.

 

A young boar, about 1-2 years old (”kesik” in Estonian), weighs about 40 kilos.

 

The body length of old boars is over 2 meters, height at withers a meter and weight more than 300 kilos. True, such individuals are rare in the forest.

 

A fully grown boar usually weighs 100-150 kilos. A sow seldom exceeds the 100 kilo mark. The weight of boars depends strongly on the season. They are at their heaviest in autumn and may lose up to half of their weight in ”difficult times”.

 

The sex of a boar seen in only a glimpse is impossible to determine. It should be known that male boars mostly keep on their own. It is of course no rule. Sometimes a solitary sow can also be seen.

 

The eye teeth of boars go on growing during the whole of their life. The tusks of sows are small and remain unnoticed. The tusks of a male boar at 4-years old or more catch attention already from afar. The tusks of the lower jaw are longer, rubbing against the upper and shorter – so they are sharpened. The older the boar the more powerful the tusks.

 

The head of the sow leaves a more slender impression. Male boars have a steeper forehead and a sturdier snout. Males also have stronger shoulders. The sow leaves an overall more slender impression.

 

Under the belly of the male we can see the ”brush”. During suckling the udder of the sow may be visible; she has 6 pairs of teats.

 

The sows behave more loudly. At danger they warn their conspecifics by repeated grunts. A male generally flees silently. When agitated both take in breath audibly. Such a puffing sound means that you have been noticed.

 

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