Reproductive parameters, birth date-effect and body condition of wild boars (Sus scrofa) inhabiting forest and forest-farmland environments in Poland

Abstract

The following parameters were measured in 315 wild boars harvested in the 2008/2009 hunting season in south-western Poland: carcass mass and length, body condition, age, and – in sows – the reproductive parameters. The material was collected from a large (720 km2), non-fragmented forest called Bory Dolnoslaskie (BD), and from several dozen small forests (SF) with a total area of 703 km2 of forested areas surrounded by agricultural land. In the BD among female piglets harvested there, no sexually mature individuals were found. In the SF environment, some of the female piglets reached sexual maturity, and the percentage of pregnant sows was higher compared to animals from the BD environment. The farrowing season in the SF environment spanned 10 months whereas in the BD environment only 6 months. The paper discusses the use of the above-mentioned parameters to devise the strategy for management of wild boar in Poland.

Keywords

• age class
• agriculture damage
• high protein forage
• pregnancy
• wild boar