Boars like to live in forests near streams or ponds. Since boars don’t have any sweat glands, they must wallow in the mud to cool off. Wallowing may also help get rid of fleas and ticks. Boars are fast runners and good swimmers. In the autumn, they eat forest foods like acorns, hickory nuts, and pecans. During the rest of the year, boars eat roots, grass, fruits, mushrooms, bugs, eggs, and even dead animals. If there is plenty of food, the boars will stay in a 10 square mile territory. They really dig up the ground while looking for roots. Boars have tough noses, or snouts, which help them dig. They have an excellent sense of smell and can sniff out underground foods. Their eyesight is not very good, but they hear very well. Their ears stand up straight; they don’t flop down like a farm pig’s ears.
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Since boars are not native (from North America), they are called “exotic” or foreign. They are called “pests” for many reasons. When they dig up the ground for roots, they kill many native plants. When they wallow near the edge of a pond, they tear up the water plants. This causes the soil to wash away (erosion) because the plant roots can’t hold onto the dirt anymore. Wild boars get into gardens and eat all the watermelons and peanuts. They sometimes eat eggs and babies of small native animals, including endangered species, like baby sea turtles. They may also eat the acorns that native animals, like deer and turkey, need for food. Boars have very few natural predators. Because of this, boars are often hunted to keep them from damaging the environment around them.
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