THE WILD BOAR 
SUS SCROFA 
LTHOUGH the wild boar of North Africa has been separated 
from the European species under the name of Sus scrofa 
£ barbarus y there can be no doubt that it is practically 
f ™ % identical in appearance and habits with the wild boars 
£ of France and Spain, and is at most but a local race of 
Wk* the European wild boar. 
A large specimen of the North African wild boar is said to stand as 
high as thirty -five inches at the shoulder, and to attain a weight of 300 lb. 
It is a common animal in Morocco and Algeria, wherever the country is 
covered with forest and brushwood, and in the former country must also 
frequent more open districts, as in former days when that country was in 
a more settled condition than at present, pigsticking was a sport regularly 
indulged in by the European residents in Tangier. Like all wild boars 
and bush pigs, however, the North African wild boar is very nocturnal in 
its habits, lying up in the daytime in thickets, where it is completely 
sheltered from the heat of the sun. As many as eight or even ten young are 
said to be produced at a litter. When first born, they are longitudinally 
striped, as is the case with all races of the wild boar in Europe and Asia. 
In a short time they lose their stripes and become of a uniform brown, 
turning nearly black when half- grown. The young of a litter live with their 
parents until they are nearly two years of age, so that a sounder of hog 
might comprise a family of from eight to a dozen animals. The tusks of 
the North African wild boar are, on the average, fully equal in size to those 
of the European species found in France and Spain, and are formidable 
weapons of defence or offence. Though not aggressive, the North African 
boar is a brave and determined animal when brought to bay, and many 
good dogs have lost their lives in encounters with these animals. 
F. G. SELOUS. 
HH 
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