THE WILD BOAR 



Boars Often Mistaken For Lions — Dangerous Sport for Hunters — Furious Charge on Horses, 

 Elephants and Camels — Fight Between a Wild Pig and a Snake. 



While North Africa is the home of a wild hog resembhng the European 

 variety, in the countries south of the Sahara are found several other species 

 of wild hogs. One was found by Colonel Roosevelt near many rivers in the 

 more settled parts of British East Africa, another in the vast Masai districts. 

 He found the hunt of a strong, full-grown wild boar both exciting and profit- 

 able, for its savory flesh was a welcome addition tO' the bill of fare of his 

 safari, and its tusks are valuable trophies. "The wild hog does a great deal 

 of damage to our plantations and fields, rooting and eating the fruits at night- 

 time," said an African settler toi our ex-President, 



While its eyes are weak, its hearing and sense of smell are keen. Boars 

 fleeing through the high grass or through thickets, have often been mistaken 

 for lions by the natives. The bristles on their back, often over twelve inches 

 long, seen from a distance, really suggest a lion's mane. 



The wild hog, or boar, inhabits many parts of Europe, especially the 

 forests of Germany, where the chase of the wild boar is a common amuse- 

 ment. It has become extinct in this country for many years. Its tusks 

 are terrible weapons, and capable of being used with fatal effect. They 

 curve outwards from the lower jaw, and are sometimes eight or ten inches in 

 length. In India, where the boar attains to a great size, the horses on which 

 the hunters are mounted often refuse to bring their riders w'ithin spear stroke 

 of the infuriated animal, and I have seen it kill a horse, and severely injure 

 the rider with one sweep of its enormous tusks. 



The wild boar is distinguished by a body generally of dusky-brown or 

 grayish color, having a tendency tO' black, and being diversified with black 

 spots. The front teeth or tusks in the male are long and powerful, and 

 project beyond the upper lip, the mouth is large, and the elongated head is 

 set on a short neck rising out of a thick and muscular body. The size is 

 variable, an old wild boar, measured by a hunter, being five feet nine inches 

 long, w'hile a four-year-old of the more ordinary size measured three feet 

 without the tail. The female is smaller than the male and with smaller 

 tusks. The hairs of the body are coarse, intermixed with downy wool. 

 On the neck and shoulders the hair takes the form of bristles, being long 

 enough to be called a kind of mane which the animal is enabled to erect if 



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