Maximum weight of wild boar. All about wild boars and their life

Dimensions and weight of the boar.

Currently in the river delta. Volga, according to A. A. Lavrovsky (1952), adult males sometimes weigh 250-270 kg. It is characteristic that at the end of the last century, when wild boar was intensively hunted in the Volga delta, the largest males there weighed only 12 pounds (192 kg, - HP), while most animals weighed 3-7 pounds (48-112 kg ) (I. Yavlensky, 1875). It should be noted that even in the 18th and 19th centuries, wild boars of larger sizes lived there. For example, P. S. Pallas (1786), speaking about Western Kazakhstan animals, notes that they were “extraordinary in size” and weighed up to “15 pounds” ( 240 kg). According to G.S. Karelin (1875), in the 40-50s of the 19th century, two wild boars were caught on the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, which allegedly weighed one 19 and the other 20 pounds (304 and 320 kg, - A.S. .). Archaeological finds also testify to the existence of very large wild boars in past centuries. For example, judging by materials from the Neolithic Mariupol burial ground (in the Azov region), wild boars living in the valley of the river. Mius, reached enormous sizes (the width of the lower fangs is up to 3 cm). According to Boplan, in the Dnieper valley in the 17th century there were wild boars of “monstrous growth.” Large boar sizes in the past are also confirmed by the finds of their remains in the peat bogs of the Kyiv and Zhitomir regions (I. G. Pidoplichko, 1951) - It is obvious that under the direct and indirect influence of anthropic factors, the wild boar has been crushed over the past centuries. It is interesting to note that during the same period, the reduction of bison, red deer, European roe deer and other animals was observed. The grinding of wild boars continues to this day, since in any area where they live one can hear stories from many hunters that they used to hunt larger animals than now.

In the river valley Syr Darya, according to N.A. Severtsov (1874), males aged 5-8 years weighed 8-10 pounds (128-160 kg) and very rarely up to 12 pounds (192 kg). According to many hunters I interviewed, in the 30s of this century on the Syr Darya, the maximum weight of wild boars they caught reached 240 kg. It is possible that there were larger boars here before. For example, Skorobogatov (1924), describing wild boar hunting in the south of modern Kazakhstan in the last century, wrote that “in the reeds there are wild boars, up to 20 pounds (320 kg). I myself once had to kill one that weighed 17 pounds (272 kg).” It is difficult to say how reliable this information is.

About the weight and body size of wild boars currently living in the lower reaches of the river. Or, one can judge from the data given in the table.

In this area, the 11 males studied, at least 5-6 years old, weighed (without stomach, intestines and blood) from 80 to 183 kg, and on average - 106.4 kg. If we assume that the full stomach and intestines, as well as blood, weigh together about 15-20 kg, the live weight of wild boars will vary from 95-100 to 200 kg and average 120-125 kg. In addition, I also examined several dozen cleavers, the live weight of which was approximately 80-150 kg. According to many hunters interviewed, in the lower reaches of the river. Or the maximum weight of gutted males very rarely reaches 205-220 kg; thus, their live weight was 220-240 kg. The weight of the eight gutted females varied from 49 to 80 kg, with an average of 68.7 kg. Consequently, their live weight ranged from 65-70 to 95-100 kg, but on average a female wild boar weighs about 83 kg. For example, two queens we caught in December had a live weight of one - 75, the second - 85 kg. Alive weight of adult Ili boars, kept in the Alma-Ata Zoo, the male had!

Table 1

Data on the size and weight of an adult wild boar in the lower reaches of the river. Or

142 n for a female - 118 kg. Based on the above data, we can conclude that currently, in the entire desert part of the wild boar’s range in Kazakhstan, the maximum weight of males reaches 220-240 g, females - 100-120 kg. Consequently, the boars living in this large area have more or less the same weight.

In the semi-desert zone on the lake. The male Kurgaldzhin wild boar, killed in November, weighed (gutted) 144 kg (live weight about 160 kg), and the second animal, killed in March (very thin), weighed 100 kg (live weight about 115). The cleaver caught near Biysk weighed about 150 kg.

Wild boars living in Western Europe and the European part of the Soviet Union also have similar weights to those given above for Kazakhstan. For example, in Germany the maximum weight of this animal reaches 150-200 kg (W. Haacke, 1901).

In the Latvian SSR, the largest animals also weigh up to 200 kg, and once an old cleaver weighing 236 kg was caught there (A.I. Kalnins, 1950). In “Belarus, in the Khoiniki region, an old male weighing 256 kg was killed in 1951 (I.N. Serzhanin, 1955). Two females from Belovezhskaya Pushcha at the age of 4-5 years weighed 84 and 96.4 kg (S.A. Severtsov and T.B. Sablina, 1953).In the Caucasus Nature Reserve, the weight of male boars now ranges from 64 to 178 kg, with an average of 166 kg (12 copies each), females from 48 to 108, with an average of 68 kg ( S. S. Donaurov and V. P. Teplov, 1938), while in the time of N. Ya. Dinnik (1910) old male boars there weighed 240-255 kg and females - 120-145 kg. In Eastern

Siberia in the last century most large boars weighed up to 240 kg and, as an exception, animals weighing 272 kg were encountered (A. Cherkasov, 1884). Very large wild boars live in the Soviet Far East. The maximum weight of males there allegedly reaches 300-320 kg (Yu. A. Liverovsky and Yu. A. Kolesnikov, 1949), and according to the latest data of V. P. Sysoev (1952) - only 200 kg.

The sizes of various parts of the body of an adult Kazakhstani wild boar and the characteristics of its physique can be judged from the data given in tables 1 and 2.

Body indices of the Kazakhstan wild boar from the lower reaches of the river. Or

Judging by the weight and size of adult wild boars, these animals have fairly well-defined sexual dimorphism. Males are larger than females.

Due to the fact that wild boars grow relatively slowly, they also have pronounced age dimorphism. Young animals under the age of 12 months are called piglets (among the Kazakhs - “ggurai>). The size and weight of piglets in winter at the age of 8-11 months can be judged from the data given in Table 3. Considering that the piglet has a full stomach and intestines, as well as blood, together weigh an average of 4 kg, its live weight at the age of 8- 11: months ranges from 21 to 30 for males and from 20 to 30 for females

Data on the size and weight of gilts and piglets in the lower reaches of the river. Or

1 Weight without stomach, intestinal tract and blood.

29 kg. Thus, by the age of one year, piglets reach only about 7% of the weight of an adult animal. Their body sizes increase much faster (see Table 3).

Between 12 and 23 months of age, young boars are called gilts.

The data in Table 3 give an idea of ​​their weight and size. Considering that a full stomach, intestines and blood of a gilt weigh on average about 10 kg, its live weight ranges from 25 to 54 kg for males and 35 to 44 kg for females. . According to hunters, there are male gilts weighing up to 60 kg. Hence, gilts weigh about half as much as adult boars. Our data on the weight of wild boars at different ages are also confirmed by materials from other authors. For example, according to V. Haacke (1901), the weight of wild boars living in Central Europe in the first year of life is 25-40, in the second 50-70, in the third 80-100, and in the fourth 100-185 kg. It is believed that wild boars reach full growth at the age of 5-6 years. They live 20 - 30 years.

The weight of a gutted animal without stomach, intestines and blood.

The first animal to become famous throughout the world was a hog named Big Bill. The boar appeared as a result of crossing Chinese and Polish. He lived in Texas (USA) and died in 1933. The weight of the animal was one ton and 158 kg, and its length was 2.72 meters. After his death, a stuffed animal was made and kept by the pig's owners. Currently, the whereabouts and safety of the stuffed animal are unknown.

Chun Chun

Chun-Chun, a Chinese hog who weighed almost a ton (900 kg), had an equally exotic appearance. Chun-Chun was about 2.5 meters in length, but due to its enormous weight, the boar lived for only four years. Currently, a stuffed animal of this boar is in the Chinese Agriculture Museum.

Big Norma Pig

Another record holder is the American pig Big Norma, she weighed even more than her Chinese relative. Big Norma reached a weight of one ton and two hundred kilograms, and was the same length as a Chinese boar - 2.5 meters. The pig is currently dead and the stuffed animal is missing.

Wild boars

Another giant of wildlife is wild boar. A huge wild boar was shot dead in 2004 in the state of Georgia (USA). The weight of the animal was 380 kilograms, and the stated length at the time of capture was 3.5 meters. The boar's nickname was Cabzilla. However, later, after a detailed study, zoologists determined that the real weight of the animal was 360 kg and its length was 2.4 meters.

Another American heavy boar was caught while hunting in Alabama. The giant weighed 480 kg, was 3.5 meters long and had fangs 13 cm long. According to journalists, an American boy who was only 11 years old caught, or rather shot, the animal. This was not his first trophy, since he had previously hunted elk with his father and knew how to shoot.

The biggest boar today

Currently, one of the most recent giant boars is recognized as a former inhabitant of Great Britain - Old Slot. It’s hard to believe, but they say it weighed up to 6 tons and 395 kilograms, and the length was 3.5 meters. Old Slot belonged to the Gloucester pig breed.

Giant Voynich sculpture

A notable exhibit is the huge Voinich boar, the main secret of which is that it is a sculpture. This giant is located on French soil, between the cities of Raethel and Charleville-Mezières. The first stage of construction of the iron sculpture started in January 1983.

The statue was finally completed in 1993. The author of Voynich is Eric Sleziak. The cost of the sculpture is 600 thousand euros, height - 9.5 m, width - 5 m, length - 11 m. The weight of the giant is 50 tons.

Photo gallery

Video “How to properly skin and cut a wild boar”

An interesting video in which an American hunter tells and shows how to properly skin a caught animal. If you look carefully, everything is available without translation.

Victor Kalinin

Pig farmer with 12 years of experience

Articles written

Nature constantly surprises us with its wonders. Among the countless diversity of biological species, sometimes truly unprecedented specimens are encountered. A bear whose height reaches the second floor windows, or a shark the length of a small yacht - it’s scary to imagine such monstrously huge animals. Now imagine that a wild boar armed with tusks has these dimensions. The largest boar is a desired trophy for every hunter, but we must not forget about the danger that accompanies such an animal. A huge wild boar that accidentally meets can not only attack and injure, but also kill a person - this animal is hot-tempered, the meeting will obviously not go well.

The wild boar, despite its resemblance to the ordinary domestic pig, is not so harmless. The animal's body is muscular, of a somewhat indefinite shape: the raised and bulky front part abruptly turns into a narrow and shortened pelvis, the legs are short, strong, allowing it to develop great speed. The head is small, the neck is thick, immediately turning into the body. Small eyes are located under the forehead, which leans forward strongly, and the ears are short. The tail reaches a length of up to 30 cm. The whole body is covered with hard bristles from dark gray to black, and in young boars it is brownish-brown with stripes on the back.

About speed: even on rough terrain, a large boar can accelerate to 40-50 km/h and overcome obstacles up to 2 meters high! Such a runaway beast, whose average weight is 100-150 kg, and whose head is armed with two sharp tusks, demolishes everything in its path. Trees, buildings, cars - nothing will hold him back. Therefore, there is a rule among hunters: a boar cannot simply be wounded, only killed, and only immediately, otherwise it will not escape.

Wild boars are quite fertile, and they maintain a high level of offspring survival.

Where can you find a wild boar?

These animals live almost everywhere. All continents (except Antarctica) have their own species of wild boar - from the African warthog to the Transbaikal warthog, which inhabits the coniferous forests of Eastern Siberia. But we can't say exactly where the largest wild boar in the world lives. Information about such specimens is available in most countries.

A wild boar is an animal that belongs to the pig family and the artiodactyl order. This is a wild animal living in deciduous and mixed forests. Their length usually does not exceed 1.5 meters. Boars have a dense and small body, thick hooves, an elongated head and pointed tusks.

Hunters are waiting with great interest when the hunting season opens in order to compete with each other to see who can shoot which boar. And, of course, everyone dreams of meeting the biggest boar, but everyone understands that the chances of the dream coming true are negligible.

Giant boars

But it turns out that there are exceptions to the rules. Indeed, there are people on earth who have seen with their own eyes what the world’s largest wild boars look like. This article will tell you about three of these outstanding mammals.

1. In 2011, luck smiled on a very young man, Jamisse (11 years old). He resides in Alabama (Pickensville). He managed to shoot a wild boar, the photo of which filled the World Wide Web! Its length was 3.5 meters and it weighed about 500 kilograms. This boy has been interested in hunting since early childhood and has other animals on his account, but he claims that he was simply lucky to meet such a giant;
2. A few years earlier, in 2004, another incredible story took place in the United States. Then, in the state of Georgia, hunters managed to shoot an equally amazing wild boar. He was also written about in the New York Times. Its length exceeded 3 meters and its weight was more than 300 kilograms. This is certainly not the largest boar, but it has a unique difference from others. The length of his fangs was especially striking - it reached 70 centimeters. Scientists even examined the DNA of his cells and came to the conclusion that he was raised on a farm (he would not be able to survive in the wild with such tusks) and is a cross between a domestic pig and a wild boar;
3. And the trio is completed by a boar-sculpture. Eric Slezak himself worked on its production. He devoted 11 years to making it and at the end of 1993 he completed work on the sculpture. Its cost in 2008 was 600,000 euros and it is now located in France.

The large wild boar is found in nature primarily in Africa, Asia and England, although they can also be found in Europe. Shooting him is a real success for the hunter. But this mammal is very dangerous, so hunting it is quite labor-intensive and exhausting. But professionals in their field do not lose hope! Who knows, maybe this year one of them will be able to shoot an even bigger wild boar?!

The largest boar in the world was raised by an English farmer. Starting from ancient Greek myths and old European legends, the wild boar, or, as it was more often called then, the wild boar, gained fame as a huge, terrible animal, a meeting with which did not bode well. Wild boars inhabited a vast territory and until now they could be found on almost all continents. This wide distribution is due to the fact that they are unpretentious in food and can easily adapt to any food.

The largest boar in the world was raised by an English farmer

The biggest pigs

Among pigs, domesticated relatives of the wild boar, individuals of record sizes have been recorded, such as the Big Bill boar from Texas, America, which weighed more than 1 ton and was about 3 m in length. On the way to the exhibition, he was injured and was euthanized. Such impressive dimensions even remained forever captured in the form of a stuffed animal.

The largest boar in the world was raised by a British farmer. With a specially selected diet and diligent care, he managed to bring the weight of Old Slot (that was the boar’s name) to 6 tons. Currently, this is an unsurpassed result.

Among pigs, domesticated relatives of wild boar, individuals of record sizes have been recorded

Another pig, Chun Chun, originally from China, cannot boast of such an unbearable weight, but still brought its owner the fame of one of the largest animals of this species in the world. His weight reached 900 kg with a body length of 2.5 m. Now the stuffed boar is in the museum.

The owner claims that he did not try to fatten his pet, Chun-Chun simply had an excellent appetite and good health, which allowed him to reach unique dimensions.

But wild boars live on pasture and it is difficult for them to grow to such sizes. On average, boars weigh 220-250 kg and have a length of 1.20 – 1.50 m. They have always been prey for people. Hunting wild boars is not safe, but it is very exciting.

Gallery: the world's largest wild boars (25 photos)

The largest wild boar in the world (video)

Boars from Georgia and Alabama

In 2007, the largest wild boar at that time in the United States (Georgia) was killed. The American pig weighed over 350 kg and had long, scary fangs.
Later, the carcass of the monster, called Hogzilla, was examined and it was found that it was a hybrid of a domestic pig and a wild boar. Scientists have suggested that he grew up at the home of some farmer, because it would be incredible for an individual with similar fangs to survive in the forest. And although it later turned out that the huge boar was actually somewhat smaller in size, the record stood until 2011.

In 2011, the largest wild boar in Alabama was shot by a young hunter, Jamisse. And although this was not his first prey, great luck helped him cope with such a monster. Going out to hunt again, the hunter accidentally saw that a giant boar appeared on a forest path not far from him. While the beast was confused, Jamisse showed lightning-fast reaction and accuracy, and the old cleaver was killed on the spot. The American wild pig weighed as much as 480 kg and had a body length of 3.5 m. So far, of all officially recorded cases, this is the largest wild boar killed.

Another boar, which is not as large as the Alabama giant, lived in the forests of Turkey and was hunted by Portuguese hunters. They named him Attila; the weight of the outstanding animal exceeded 350 kg.

Boar hunting (video)

Giant boar from Russia

Until recently, no wild boars of record sizes were recorded in Russia. But in 2015, in the Ural forests, near the village of Shokurovo, a Chelyabinsk businessman and hunter killed a huge boar. The largest wild boar in Russia weighed 535 kg, height at the withers - 1.7 m. To get it, we had to call other hunters for help and track down the shot monster, which was trying to attack the daredevils.

Until recently, no wild boars of record sizes were recorded in Russia. But in 2015, in the Ural forests, near the village of Shokurovo, a Chelyabinsk businessman and hunter killed a huge boar

In the end, everything ended well, and the huge animal, which did not even fit in the car, was dragged by cable to the village. The giant head made an impressive stuffed animal and was sent to a hunting trophy exhibition.

This largest wild boar in the world, judging by its size, has not yet been recognized as such, citing the lack of video recording, because you can always choose the appropriate angle for photographs. But the world press wrote a lot about it, calling the beast King Kong and calling Hogzilla a child in comparison.

There are many sculptures of wild boars in different cities around the world. This animal has always inspired not only storytellers, but also artists. True, there is only one sculpture of a gigantic size of 9.5 m in height in France. Artwork by Eric Slezirak. It occupies a worthy place in the list of the largest wild boars.

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