Indian boar

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Indian boar
Sus scrofa cristatus.jpg
Indian boar, Bandhavgarh National Park, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Sus
Species:
Subspecies:
S. s. cristatus
Trinomial name
Sus scrofa cristatus
Wagner, 1839
Synonyms [1]
Species synonymy
  • affinis (Gray, 1847)
  • aipomus (Gray, 1868)
  • aipomus (Hodgson, 1842)
  • bengalensis (Blyth, 1860)
  • indicus (Gray, 1843)
  • isonotus (Gray, 1868)
  • isonotus (Hodgson, 1842)
  • jubatus (Miller, 1906)
  • typicus (Lydekker, 1900)
  • zeylonensis (Blyth, 1851)

The Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), also known as the Moupin pig, [2] is a subspecies of wild boar native to India, Nepal, Myanmar, western Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Contents

The Indian boar differs from the Central European Boar by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build. [3] It is slightly taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed. [2] The tail is also more tufted, and the cheeks hairier. [4] Adults measure from 84 to 91 cm (33 to 36 in) in shoulder height (with one specimen in West Bengal having reached 97 cm (38 in)) and 152 cm (5 ft) in body length. Weight ranges from 91 to 136 kg (200 to 300 lb). [2]

Wild Boars in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India Wild Boars (Sus scrofa cristatus) (20132920710).jpg
Wild Boars in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India
Wild boar with piglets in Kaziranga National Park, Assam Wait ma 690V6270 - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg
Wild boar with piglets in Kaziranga National Park, Assam

The animal has interacted with humans in the Indian Subcontinent since the Upper Paleolithic, with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in Bhimbetaka rock shelters, [5] and it occasionally appears in Hindu mythology. A story present in the Brahmanas says that Indra killing a evil boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods and goddesses and they eat it. In a story in Charaka Samhita, a boar named Ermusha is a avatara of Brahma and he raises the earth and sky from the primeval waters of the universe during creation and creates the universe. In the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas, another boar, Varaha is an avatar of Vishnu that kills Hiranyaksha and saves Bhumi. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Sus</i> (genus) Genus of even-toed ungulates

Sus is the genus of domestic and wild pigs, within the even-toed ungulate family Suidae. Sus include domestic pigs and their ancestor, the common Eurasian wild boar, along with other species. Sus species, like all suids, are native to the Eurasian and African continents, ranging from Europe to the Pacific islands. Suids other than the pig are the babirusa of Indonesia, the pygmy hog of South Asia, the warthogs of Africa, and other pig genera from Africa. The suids are a sister family to peccaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild boar</span> Species of mammal

The wild boar, also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to a diversity of habitats. It has become an invasive species in part of its introduced range. Wild boars probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene and outcompeted other suid species as they spread throughout the Old World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varaha</span> Boar avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu

Varaha is the avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avataras of Vishnu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suidae</span> Family of mammals belonging to even-toed ungulates

Suidae is a family of artiodactyl mammals which are commonly called pigs, hogs, or swine. In addition to numerous fossil species, 18 extant species are currently recognized, classified into between four and eight genera. Within this family, the genus Sus includes the domestic pig, Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus, and many species of wild pig from Europe to the Pacific. Other genera include babirusas and warthogs. All suids, or swine, are native to the Old World, ranging from Asia to Europe and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian peafowl</span> Species of bird

The Indian peafowl, also known as the common peafowl or blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. While it originated in the Indian subcontinent, it has since been introduced to many other parts of the world. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are referred to as peahens, although both sexes are often referred to colloquially as a "peacock".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pig</span> Domesticated omnivorous even-toed ungulate

The pig, also called swine or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus Sus. It is considered a subspecies of Sus scrofa by some authorities, but as a distinct species by others. Pigs were domesticated in the Neolithic, both in East Asia and in the Near East. When domesticated pigs arrived in Europe, they extensively interbred with wild boar but retained their domesticated features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygmy hog</span> Species of mammal

The pygmy hog is a very small and endangered species of pig and the only species in the genus Porcula. Endemic to India, the pygmy hog is a suid native of the alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas, at elevations of up to 300 m (980 ft). Populations of pygmy hogs were once widespread in the tall, dense, wet grasslands in a narrow belt of the southern Himalayan foothills from north-western Uttar Pradesh to Assam, through southern Nepal and North Bengal, and possibly extending into contiguous habitats in southern Bhutan. Due to human encroachment and destruction of the pygmy hogs’ natural habitat, the species was thought to have gone extinct in the early 1960s. However, in 1971, a small pygmy hog population was rediscovered as they were fleeing a fire near the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. Today, the only known population of pygmy hogs resides in Manas National Park in Assam, India. The population is threatened by livestock grazing, fires and poaching. With an estimated population of less than 250 mature individuals, the pygmy hog is listed as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List, and conservation efforts such as captive breeding and re-release programs are currently being employed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamworth pig</span> British breed of pig

The Tamworth is a British breed of domestic pig. It is the only red-coloured British pig. Its origins are unknown, but it appears to have developed near the town of Tamworth in south-eastern Staffordshire, close to Warwickshire border. It is one of seven British pig breeds listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as 'priority', the highest level of concern of the trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine warty pig</span> Species of mammal

The Philippine warty pig is one of four known species in the pig genus (Sus) endemic to the Philippines. They have tufts of hair on the top of their head and on the lower sides of their jaws, as well as four warts on their faces. Their skulls are elongated; males have tusks and bigger skulls than females, an example of sexual dimorphism. They are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN, and their population is currently declining due to multiple threats. The pigs are probably nocturnal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebes warty pig</span> Suid from Sulawesi (Sus celebensis)

The Celebes warty pig, also called Sulawesi warty pig or Sulawesi pig, is a species in the pig genus (Sus) that lives on Sulawesi in Indonesia. It survives in most habitats and can live in altitudes of up to 2,500 m (8,000 ft). It has been domesticated and introduced to a number of other islands in Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javan warty pig</span> Species of mammal

The Javan warty pig, also called Javan wild pig, is an even-toed ungulate in the family Suidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian islands Java and Bawean, and is considered extinct on Madura. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boar hunting</span> Hunting for wild boar or feral pigs

Boar hunting is the practice of hunting wild boar, feral pigs, warthogs, and peccaries. Boar hunting was historically a dangerous exercise due to the tusked animal's ambush tactics as well as its thick hide and dense bones rendering them difficult to kill with premodern weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boar–pig hybrid</span> Hybridised offspring

Boar–pig hybrid is a hybridized offspring of a cross between the Eurasian wild boar and any domestic pig. Feral hybrids exist throughout Eurasia, the Americas, Australia, and in other places where European settlers imported wild boars to use as game animals. In many areas, a variable mixture of these hybrids and feral pigs of all-domesticated original stock have become invasive species. Their status as pest animals has reached crisis proportions in Australia, parts of Brazil, and parts of the United States, and the animals are often freely hunted in hopes of eradicating them or at least reducing them to a controllable population.

A pig is a mammal of the genus Sus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palawan bearded pig</span> Species of mammal

The Palawan bearded pig is a pig species in the genus Sus endemic to the Philippines, where it occurs on the archipelago of islands formed by Balabac, Palawan, and the Calamian Islands. It is 1 to 1.6 m in length, about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall and weigh up to 150 kg (330 lb).

A wild pig may be:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded pig</span> Subspecies of wild boar

The banded pig also known as the Indonesian wild boar is a subspecies of wild boar native to the Thai-Malay Peninsula and many Indonesian islands, including Sumatra, Java, and has been introduced to the Lesser Sundas in ancient times. It is known as the wild boar in Singapore. It is the most basal subspecies, having the smallest relative brain size, more primitive dentition, and unspecialised cranial structure. It is a short-faced subspecies with a white band on the muzzle, as well as sparse body hair, no underwool, a fairly long mane, and a broad reddish band extending from the muzzle to the sides of the neck. It is much smaller than the mainland S. s. cristatus subspecies, with the largest specimens on Komodo weighing only 48 kg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese boar</span> Subspecies of wild boar

The Japanese boar, also known as the white-moustached pig, nihon-inoshishi (ニホンイノシシ), or yama kujira, is a subspecies of wild boar native to all of Japan, apart for Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central European boar</span> Subspecies of wild boar

The Central European boar is a subspecies of wild boar, currently distributed across almost all of mainland Europe, with the exception of some northern areas in both Scandinavia and European Russia and the southernmost parts of Greece. It is a medium-sized, dark to rusty-brown haired subspecies with long and relatively narrow lacrimal bones. In Northern Italy, artificially introduced S. s. scrofa have extensively interbred with the smaller sized indigenous S. s. majori populations since the 1950s.

References

  1. Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 Lydekker, R. (1900), The great and small game of India, Burma, & Tibet , London : R. Ward, pp. 258-266
  3. Sterndale, R. A. (1884), Natural history of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon , Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, pp. 415-420
  4. Jerdon, T. C. (1874), The mammals of India; a natural history of all the animals known to inhabit continental India , London, J. Wheldon, pp. 241-244
  5. Mayer, John J., "Wild Pig Attacks on Humans" (2013). Wildlife Damage Management Conferences Proceedings. Paper 151. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_wdmconfproc/151
  6. Macdonell, A. A. (1898), Vedic Mythology , Motilal Banarsidass Publ., p. 41