422 



RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



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I I 1 I I 1 I 



Lower Tusk of Wild Boar. 



WILD BOAR (Sus scrofa and S. cristatus). 



Most of the European and Asiatic species of wild swine, forming 

 the typical group of the genus Sus, are so like each other, that it is 

 often a matter of difficulty to discriminate between them, and naturalists 

 are not yet in accord as to the number of species which should be 

 recognised. The European wild boar is a large coarsely-haired species, 

 with an undercoat of woolly fur, no warts on the face, and standing 

 about 3 3 inches at the shoulder. It lacks the crest or mane of long 

 black bristles running from the nape down the back in its Indian 

 cousin ; and the last tooth in the lower jaw is of a rather less complex 

 structure than in the latter. The wild boar of India (5. cristatus) is 

 dear to the heart of the Indian sportsman, though he does contemptuously 

 call its chase " pig-sticking." 



" Pig -sticking" is considered quite as dangerous, if not more so 

 than tiger- shooting. It is not a game of long bowls, but a close 

 personal attack on a very fierce and pugnacious animal, endowed with 

 strength, swiftness, and much tenacity of life. It takes a good horse 

 and a good man to try conclusions satisfactorily with an old gray boar 

 over nasty country, and the weapon used is only a spear. There are 

 parts of the hilly country in India where it is impossible to ride, and 



