Kaban-shchach: forest inhabitant

Kaban-sekach, wild boar, wild pig - all these are names of one species of animals widely distributed on Earth. The range of its habitat is extensive, it occupies the entire European continent, extending in the north to Scandinavia, and in Asia - to the Far Eastern regions and Transbaikalia.

They are found everywhere, right up to the tropical zones of the continents, as well as in Sumatra, Java, New Guinea and other islands. Not so long ago the wild boar inhabited huge North African territories, but as a result of the barbaric hunting for it the species was completely destroyed. Today, its populations migrate to parts of Argentina, Central and North America. This article will tell about the life of this animal, its habits and preferences.

Features of the view

Kaban-sekach, a photo of which is demonstrated - a mammalian animal suborder of non-ruminants from the family of pigs, which is the ancestor of a domestic pig. Today there are more than 25 subspecies of the beetle, but all of them are united by the typical shape of the animal: a massive, forward-wedged head with wide pointed ears, a snout that ends with a patch and small eyes. Depending on the subspecies, the length of his body varies from 1.3 to 1.8 m, height - 0.5-1 m, and weight - from 60 to 170 kg. From time to time, cases of the appearance of powerful individuals, whose weight reaches 250-275 kg, are recorded.

Of course, this is a huge wild boar, an animal, with an incredible power and an eerie appearance. Experienced hunters often embellish the size of their trophies. Nevertheless, in November last year, the media reported on the appearance in the Urals region of a real giant - a boar weighing more than a semitone and 2-meter height at the withers. If this is true, then this is the biggest wild boar.

Wool

The body of the wild boar is covered with a thick rigid and elastic bristle, which in winter with the onset of colds becomes longer. In addition, a warm undercurrent grows, warming boars in frosts. Along the ridge on the back, the wool is placed in the crest, which is imperceptible in a calm state and rises at the danger. The color of the animal can be different - gray, black or earthy-brown. Piglets often have a caricature and striped color, but it is she who saves them in the variegated undergrowth.

Lifestyle

Kaban-sekach adapts to life in a variety of places - both in the impassable wilds of the Siberian taiga, and in tropical rain forests. It is found in deserts and mountainous areas. European beech and oak forests, followed by meadows and swamps, are especially loved by these animals. They do not bypass the Caucasus with its fruit and walnut groves. Kaban-sekach migrates along the valleys of mountain rivers, entirely covered with shrub thickets. In the Far East he prefers cedar forests and mixed forests. Getting the food, the boar constantly wanders from place to place. In the summer for a day it can pass up to 8 kilometers, in winter the duration of the transition depends on the amount of snow falling and its density.

For example, the height of the snow cover at 30-40 cm is critical for the beast, since it has short paws, and the caked nast rats the legs of the animal. Often in difficult years, when there is little natural food, veins make raids on agricultural territories.

Wild boars are careful, they rest in the bush, lying in the summer on a forest litter, under the rocks or in the shade of trees. In winter, they arrange sticks from twigs, needles, moss or rags in places protected by the crowns of trees. From here they go out in search of food and eat everything they find. But such omnivores do not prevent them from having food preferences.

What do wild pigs eat?

Delicacies for boils are tubers and rhizomes of plants, which they extract by digging the ground with their snouts. Note that the boar's snout is a unique tool that provides an excellent sense of smell and is a means of obtaining food, because more than ¾ of all the prey it finds with its help. For a day, a large boar-bale can eat about 6 kg of feed. In summer and autumn, the diet of wild boar is varied by berries, nuts, various seeds, and in winter, in conditions of shortage of feed, it is content with bark of trees and shrubs.

Do not disdain boars with small reptiles, lizards, worms, rodents and even carrion. In different territories, the veins eat differently, using the food that is available. The size of the habitat also depends on the availability of feed and the degree of its availability.

Reproduction

From November to January, the boar begins a marriage period or a rut: males look for females and often arrange fights, inflicting very tangible damage to each other. By the end of the mating season, they lose weight to 20%. Young females reach sexual maturity to 1.5-2 years of age, males - to 4.5-5-year-old.

The female nurses offspring just over 4 months, on average 130 days, has grown up in the spring. Young females bring 5-6 piglets in the litter, the old ones - 8-12. Before farrowing, they arrange comfortable nests, insulated from all sides and covered with dry grass, small twigs and twigs. The pigs born in the first week do not leave the nest, and the pig moms take care of them and feed them every 3-4 hours, and although they periodically leave to look for food, they return to the kids for the night. After 7-10 days, the piglets come out of the nest and accompany the mother everywhere, at the slightest danger, hiding in the grass or the windbreak.

From the age of two weeks they begin to learn how to dig. The period of feeding lasts up to 3.5 months.

Benefit of a boil in the renewal of forests

The amazing ability of wild pigs to dig constantly is very useful in the resumption of forests. Losing large areas of the soil layer, the boar-shovel helps to seal seeds of various plants. In the process of digging, veins find and eat many forest pests, insects and larvae, significantly reducing their numbers and suppressing active activity.