CHAPTER XIII 



WILD PIGS 



FEW people there are who appear to evince any real interest in 

 Pigs. True enough the poor, the farmer and the large American 

 packer do devote a good deal of attention to them because of the way 

 in which they may be made to pay, but it is not from this point of 

 view that it is desirable to approach the animals with which we are 

 concerned in this section of our work. 



Attention is to be devoted to a selection of Wild Pigs which are 

 inhabitants of various parts of the world, but before dealing 

 specifically with the subjects illustrated in Figs. 189 to 196 inclusive, 

 it will be as well to point out many interesting features connected 

 with these wild species. For this purpose I have made reference to 

 Dr. Otto Schmeil's Textbook of Zoology, and wish, thus early, to 

 acknowledge my indebtedness to the work in question for much of 

 the information which follows. 



Wild Pigs belong to the sub-order of Even-Toed Ungulates 

 known as Non-Ruminants, the members of which have all three 

 kinds of teeth developed in both jaws, with the canine teeth fre- 

 quently appearing as strong tusks. They do not chew the cud 

 or ruminate. They possess stout bodies; the skin is in many 

 instances sparsely covered with hair or bristles; there is often a 

 remarkable accumulation of fat under the thick skin (the fattened 

 Domestic Pig sent to market is an apt example of this), and these 

 animals do not possess either horns or antlers, although the remark- 

 able tusks of the Babirussa, or Pig-Deer, are worthy of mention in 

 this respect. 



EUROPEAN WILD PIG, AND WILD PIGS GENERALLY. The 

 European Wild Boar, or Albanian Wild Pig (Fig. 189), was at one 

 time an inhabitant of Britain, for its remains are frequently being 

 discovered, especially in those districts where, in mediaeval days, 

 Wild Boar hunting was one of the chief sports indulged in. An 



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