Youngling or adult boar, which is better? Determining the age of a boar. Main directions of business

A yearling is a young boar that was born less than a year ago. Hunting for such animals is especially popular in Russia, as it is much easier and more effective. Juveniles are easier to catch since they do not have much experience in defense. Also, their wool and meat are the most valued on the market.

Young piglets are small in size. Most often, their color has lighter shades, and only after a year they begin to darken. They also have long legs, which is one of their characteristic features young boars. Males on appearance Slimmer than females, they also have a full mane. In a flock of wild boars, except for the leader, everyone else is most often female. Young male boars most often walk alone. In order to start this type of hunting, you must have not only the necessary equipment, but also Special attention pay attention to special skills that are necessary during hunting.

Main stages of the hunt

You need to understand that hunting a young wild boar is quite difficult and sometimes dangerous. If the youngling is with its female, who is frightened by the shooting, then this may pose a risk to the hunter’s life. Therefore, in this matter it is necessary to be as precise and careful as possible. In order to start this type of hunting, you need to know certain steps that must be followed, only then can you hope for a successful process.

• First of all, it is necessary to go around all the areas where wild boars graze, especially looking at the places where the animals go to feed.
• After traces of animals are found, a corral is carried out.
• In this case, hunters (from six people) must position themselves on one side of the forest, in a place where there is a herd.
• At the same time, the beaters begin to actively make noise and at the same time they should be directed towards the shooters. At this moment, the boars will begin to move away from danger and will move towards the shooters.
• At this moment, the most important thing is not to lose skill and accurately hit the target, since otherwise, the game may run away or attack a person.
• If everything goes well, the hunter is left with his trophy.

Location: Tver region, Zapovednye estuaries.

A good trophy with such fangs.

The wild boar often causes painful disagreements between hunting workers and farmers, because in some cases it causes significant damage to agricultural crops, and the only means of combating it in the summer is considered to be shooting on “grass”. However, this measure should become a thing of the past, and today we do not have the right to carry out uncontrolled shooting “without rules,” during which leading females, middle-aged loppers, are sometimes destroyed.

The shooting must be targeted and directed, both for use and for maintaining optimal numbers of the species. In addition, we are talking about carrying out selective shooting among wild boars (as well as among other species). This shooting should be considered as important event on the formation of highly productive populations, the preservation of their genetic and physiological fund. Unfortunately, even in cases where selection work is carried out, it suffers from one-sidedness, because it is most often carried out only among males. Females, young animals, sub-adults and elderly individuals, which make up the majority of the population, are outside selection, i.e. are not harvested in the required percentage. The population must maintain a certain ratio of all sex and age groups. Without observing this principle, it is impossible to get either good trophies or high numbers. In accordance with the principles of such shooting, on the one hand, harm to agricultural crops is prevented, and on the other, there is the possibility of directed (targeted) shooting of animals culled during the planned shooting. It is very important to maintain the number of wild boars at a level corresponding to the productivity of the land and preserve the most mature and powerful animals. In other words, it is necessary to correctly assess the condition of all age groups of the herd and destroy the least promising ones.

Often during shootings, animals are shot that could have been excellent producers for several years.

There are some freaks in the family.

Because the the fundamental principle is to maintain optimal population status, It must be taken into account that only a powerful, physically strong healthy young yearling will grow into a strong gilt, which over time will develop into a powerful trophy cleaver. First of all, those individuals from all age classes that have obvious physical disabilities are subject to shooting. I would like to note that in slightly disturbed biocenoses natural selection guarantees selection, but in hunting farms, where a person takes on the role of a regulator of numbers (and especially density), things take a slightly different turn. Man strives to have a high number of game animals, exterminates predators, carries out abundant feeding, carries out veterinary measures that reduce the likelihood of epizootics, etc. As a result of all these measures, weakened individuals survive, those who are unstable in life, and behavioral stereotypes change. A decrease in the effect of natural selection factors leads to the reduction of animals. But valuable qualities of the population can be preserved through systematic selection by shooting. To do this, you need to know some features of the morphology and biology of the wild boar: to be able to distinguish yearlings from two-year-olds in a natural environment by characteristic external features, and to determine the sex of adults; know the average accepted level of development (weight, body size, color typical for a given population and timing of molting; timing of mass farrowing; be able to distinguish a healthy boar from a sick or wounded boar by behavior). For example, physically handicapped females who give birth to inferior offspring, which subsequently become the cause of population degradation. If such a case occurs, you need to shoot the female, and then her entire brood. Powerful, leading broods of females (hereinafter referred to as leading ones) are the basis for maintaining the quality of the population. It should be noted that if in the first year of life there are no necessary conditions for the full development of underyearlings, subsequently it will be possible to make up for lost time. impossible. The shooting of females must take place under absolute control. By the way, it has been noted that it is the orphaned fingerlings that cause the greatest damage to agricultural crops. Such animals usually concentrate on the territory that they managed to recognize while their mother was alive.

Due to their inexperience, fingerlings look for the most easily accessible food. Fingerlings whose mother died as a result of improper shooting are deprived of their mother's milk, as a result of which they will never be able to develop into physically strong, healthy animals. In practice, it turns out that by shooting a female who has piglets, we weaken the population. When carrying out shooting, the following principles must be observed:

Big family. Leading females with offspring.

• 90% of the planned shooting should be fingerlings and gilts (65-75% fingerlings and 15-25% gilts)
• The remaining 10% are females and loppers that have exceeded the age of maturity (over 8 years), spawning females that have not had broods for 2 years in a row, walking alone.
• Gilts weighing less than 40 kg.
• Fingerlings weighing less than 20 kg.
• Gilts and young of the year are spotted, light or black in color.
• Prohibit the shooting of healthy leading females throughout the year.
• In addition, you need to make sure that it is a female and not a low-quality cleaver.
• It must be remembered that all age groups should be industrialized, but in different percentages.

The rule that the weakest individual in the herd is subject to destruction should be elevated to the rank of the highest law when shooting females. In addition, it is necessary to take into account late dates the onset of estrus, i.e. Shoot first of all the late-bearing ones.

Determining the age of a boar.

With timely shooting of individuals in age group piglets in winter months must be observed special caution so as not to mistakenly shoot the leading individual in the herd. It goes without saying that only a few females can and should survive the gilt age safely, since an increase in the number of females in older age categories will have a detrimental effect on the sex ratio of individuals within the population as a whole. Therefore, to maintain an optimal sex ratio, it is recommended, all other things being equal, to shoot the female, not the cleaver. As for the cleavers, total number of individuals shot, their percentage should be low. To a certain extent, control over the progress of shooting in general (and cleavers in particular) should be carried out on a specific territory of the farm under the strict control of the hunting user. The cleaver to be shot must give the impression of a powerful, mature individual. Before shooting, you must be completely sure based on clear external signs that the cleaver really needs to be shot. If there is no complete certainty, culling cannot be carried out, since there is a danger of mistakenly shooting young, not fully mature loppers. A cleaver that has surpassed the age of a gilt and entered an older age category (over 3 years old) is not subject to shooting. Such boars should not be culled under any circumstances, even if, according to formal age criteria, they are included in the group to be shot. The destruction of young boars that are not yet old enough to be shot is often justified on the grounds of conservation and the desire to prevent harm. agriculture(which could be achieved by other means). However, in reality, such illiterate shooting causes much more significant harm to nature. It is known that young animals mainly stay in forests, where there is a good food supply, and practically never leave them, encroaching on farmland extremely rarely and only a short time. The argument that young animals should be shot is based on low qualifications, lack of hunting culture and deep ignorance of the actual state of affairs. In practice, in the absence of preventive measures, harm to agriculture can be caused by herds of gilts and pigs with litters of young-of-the-year piglets. Among them we can highlight the following groups:

While the young of the year are feeding on milk.

• Herds consisting of one female with yearling piglets. Externally, such herds are easily distinguishable from other groups.
• Herds consisting of several females with yearling piglets. In such groups, usually one female is subject to shooting.
• Herds consisting of gilts and their older siblings or individuals from other litters.
• Mixed herds, in which it is possible to distinguish a four-year-old cleaver (especially during the rutting period or in the presence of good food) and a female with young of the year.
• All other, single individuals can be: cleavers, barn females (relatively rare), sick individuals, or experienced females who have isolated themselves to live independently.

Powerful loppers almost never join herds during the rut. They can only accidentally encounter a herd on their way, and if there are females in estrus in it, the loppers stay overnight, and the next morning they leave the herd again. In conclusion, it should be added that in the population as a whole, individuals with light or yellowish shades are considered undesirable and should not be preserved. They need to be shot at the age of young-of-the-year piglets or gilts. The presence of such individuals in older age classes indicates that the shooting was not carried out entirely correctly, and these individuals need to be eliminated. The exception here is the leading alpha females during hunting prohibited times. Regarding the appearance of light-colored or spotted individuals in wild boar herds, I would like to clarify the following. According to the works of Tsarev S.A. such individuals arise as a result of mating of young females - young of the year - with young males, because They instinctively avoid large cleavers. As a result of mating of individuals that have not reached full physical development and often closely related mating (inbreeding), a brood with an atypical color appears. As a rule, such animals must be shot. If a late-giving female appears in the herd, the entire brood, including her, is shot. But if you meet a spotted or light-colored female of sufficiently mature age and well-formed, do not rush to shoot her, because her offspring may already be of a completely normal color, moreover, she will not inherit the undesirable traits that she inherited. Heredity, as is known, has variability, and natural selection fixes only those characteristics that best correspond to environmental conditions.

Main directions of business.

Frightened pigs quickly run away.

As with other types of game animals, when hunting wild pigs, a combination of science and practice is necessary. As prerequisites, it is necessary to take into account the following: an inventory of hunting grounds in order to determine the key habitats of the wild boar, ensuring its year-round existence in terms of food, protection and farrowing places, the presence of predators and wild dogs, the anthropogenic factor, the possibility of creating food fields and distracting feeding. Next, we will talk about the composition of the population by sex and age, which gives the greatest productivity, both in terms of quantity and quality of animals. Sex ratio has big influence by the amount of increase. It depends on the circumstances, how many females participate in reproduction, what their fertility is, and it largely depends on age. The farm's goal is to achieve a 1:1 sex ratio. But, due to the fact that hunters strive to hunt the largest animals, and these are, as a rule, males, the sex ratio shifts in favor of females. Sometimes when boars strike great damage agriculture, a 2:1 ratio in favor of males is also acceptable. This ratio provides a greater opportunity for raising trophy animals.

Age classes.

Unlike other species of ungulates, the age of which is relatively easily determined by eye based on body features and trophies, the age of wild pigs is quite difficult to determine and requires some experience and observation when determining them. Age is most accurately determined at the childhood stage of development. Both sexes are characterized as a brood (boars up to one year old) or, as we usually do, “fingerlings”. According to the German classification, this age is considered from March to May of the following year and is called “piglets”. At this age, males and females are indistinguishable from each other, but are easily distinguished at a distance from older animals. At one time, Brandt (Brandt 1961) developed an approximate scheme for determining the age of hunted animals depending on the development of the lower canines, and Przibilski (2001) on the wear of the upper ones. Here's the diagram:

An attempt was made to roughly determine the score on a hunted boar whose tusks had not yet been removed. Its essence is as follows: we measure the lower fangs at the base of the section. Based on the wear of the upper and lower canines, we determine the approximate age. Based on Brandt's formula, we find the width at the base of the canine. Since the work of some experts suggests that the lower canines extend one-third out of the jaw, we can find the full length of the lower canine by adding two-thirds. The girth of the upper canines is easy to measure, because... their most powerful part is usually available for measurement. As a result, we receive all measurement parameters, but cannot judge discounts and surcharges. However, this data is sufficient to determine which award the trophy corresponds to. But this is only the author’s assumption; perhaps game managers will try to check it. It was expressed for one purpose: game managers should know the dignity and value of the trophy they harvest. On living animals, some differences from each other were noticed, but we repeat that they require a lot of attention when identifying them; more precisely, these differences are better and more accurately determined by huntsmen and game wardens, who, by the nature of their activities, have the opportunity to constantly observe wild boars in natural conditions and under different lighting. Below is a description of wild boars of different ages and illustrations to the descriptions, which could help hunting specialists in their work, and would serve as a small guide for hunters when hunting wild boars.

Fingerlings.

Even water is no barrier for such a pig.

They have a child's head shape, a short snout, small ears, covered with short stubble. Light spots are clearly visible on the head. The color of the body is striped, yellowish-brown, which lasts up to 5-6 months, completely disappearing in August. The tail is short and thin, reaching mid-thigh. In winter attire, the body seems more powerful due to the regrown underfur. The legs are relatively short and covered dark hair. In good lighting and at a short distance, at this time the tassel on the tail is already noticeable. In the illustration on the right, the letter A denotes a yearling at the age of 4 months, and the letter B – 8 months.

Gilt.

The next age class is “gilts”. It is considered from one to 2 years. There is no more precise definition, because even boars a year older often look like a classic gilt. Due to the growing winter stubble, the head appears short and blunt, and childish forms completely disappear. The body shape becomes more powerful, especially in the front part. Light stripes are not visible. On the lips, a swelling is clearly visible, through which the tips of the lower fangs are visible. The ears are short and covered with powerful bristles. The tail is long, almost to the hock joint, with a tassel at the end. By December, the length of the lower canines is on average 116 mm. The width at the base is 19.0 mm, at the beginning of the section – 12.0 mm. Brandt number – 1.6. The girth of the upper canines is 54 mm. Average weight 38.0 kg. In the illustration on the left is a male, on the right is a female. The issue of weight is quite controversial, because... it depends entirely either on the abundance of natural food or on appropriate feeding. For example, in the Moscow Regional Society, underyearlings reach a weight of 41 kg due to abundant feeding; naturally, the weight of gilts is much higher. At the same time, in societies where not everything is so prosperous, weight indicators are much lower. This example is given to emphasize the exceptional importance of winter feeding.

Two-year-old boar.

Two-year-old boar. He has a powerful short head, childish features completely disappear, the fold on the lips increases, the points of the lower fangs and the rudiments of the upper ones begin to appear through it, but only in the summer. In winter, due to the overgrown fur, they are not visible. The figure is more massive than that of a gilt, especially in the front part. The front legs are powerful and short. The summer coat is gray, the winter coat is dark brown to black due to the long bristles that have grown. In winter attire, the ears are covered with powerful, short, dark stubble. The line of the back is arched, at the transition from the back to the neck there is a noticeable deepening, then from the withers to the hip there is a smooth decrease. The tail is thicker and longer than that of a gilt with a long tassel. By January, such a boar should have (on average) the following indicators: The length of the lower canines is 127.0 mm. The width at the base is 20.0 mm, the width at the beginning of the section is 14.0 mm. Brandt number – 1.5. The girth of the upper canines is 60.0 mm.

Middle-aged boar (3-5 years).

Boar's head 3-5 years old.

Boar from 3 to 5 years. The head is powerful, blunt in shape. The ears are large and covered with dark hair. The boundary between it and the body is clearly visible. Powerful snout, highly raised lip folds. In five-year-old loppers, the lower and upper fangs are clearly distinguishable. The transition between the head and neck is hardly noticeable in summer, especially in older individuals. From the middle, the line of the back to the hips goes downward, ending sharply towards the back. The body is massive and short, most of it is located in the front. The front legs are short, powerful, stockier than those of 2-year-olds. The tail is powerful and long, with a large brush at the end that reaches the heel joint. The genital organ is clearly outlined even in winter wool. Behavior is typically solitary. Only during the rut does she appear in the herd of females, but plays a minor role, because driven away by more powerful males. In a state of excitement, the fur on the back is very ruffled, and the cleaver looks even more massive. When settling, it behaves extremely carefully, staying in dense thickets of young growths. It comes out to feeding areas only late at night. A cleaver of this age has the following average trophy rates:

• The average length of the lower canines is 159.0 mm.
• Width at the base – 22.0 mm.
• The girth of the upper canines is 68.0 mm.
• Brandt number – 1.2.

At the age of 5 to 7 years, wild boars stop growing their skeleton.

Boar 8-9 years old.

A powerful beast, the head is equal in length to a third of the body, the neck is practically not expressed, it immediately turns into the back, which rises with a smooth hump to half the body, then smoothly decreases to the hips, from which it sharply descends to the tail. The ears are large, covered with black bristles, the fangs are clearly visible through the labial fold, most of the body mass is located in the front, the legs are short and powerful. On the withers there is long dark brown bristles, the so-called “brush”. The tail is long and strong, the brush at the end of the tail reaches 25 cm. The trophy indicators are as follows:

Adult single boar.

• The average length of the lower canines is 22.3 cm.
• Width at the base – 29, mm.
• The average girth of the upper canines is 7.8 cm.
• Brandt number – 1.01.

By this age, the growth of the skeleton has ended, the increase in the width of the lower canines has completed, both at the base and at the beginning of the section, and the sharpening of the lower and upper canines has finally formed. The trophy gained the largest dimensions both in the length and width of the lower fangs, and in the girth of the upper ones. Now the boar in the full sense of the word is trophy-mature. In subsequent years, the growth of the canines continues extremely slowly, various types of deformations occur, and often the width of the lower canines at the beginning of the section becomes greater than at the base.

In accordance with the age, piglets of the current year of birth are called “young yearlings”, last year’s ones are called “gilts” or “lonchaks”, a male 2-3 years old is called “young cleaver”, from 3 to 5 years old “cleaver”, 5-7 years old “ mature cleaver”, 8 years and older – “Odinets”.

Females have the following gradation: primiparous or two-year-old female, middle-aged and old female. A female that has offspring is called a leading female, and is covered every year by a leader female or a resident female. On the basis of her broods, a family-group union is built. An unmarried female is called barren. The rate of reproduction depends on the number and age of females participating in reproduction. Peak productivity in females occurs at 5-7 years and continues until old age. Females - underyearlings participating in reproduction - do not produce an actual increase in numbers, because their offspring do not survive the winter. In unfavorable years, they are completely excluded from reproduction. Main role The availability of food in the autumn-winter period plays a role in reproduction.

Mature cleaver.

In addition to age gradation, there is also a gradation of trophy (productive) maturity for males.

Class 1a: the cleaver, which is the purpose of management, must meet the following requirements: its age must be at least 8 years. The cleaver should give the impression of a mature, powerful beast. Its weight in summer is at least 85 kg. The ratio according to the Brandt formula is from 1.03 to 1.0. The average width of the lower canines should be at least 24 cm. The girth of the upper canines should be on average 65 mm. The trophy has a score of at least 100 points according to the CIC system.

Class 2a: a cleaver of all age classes, unmistakably identified, corresponding to its class in body size and weight, but not yet mature, not yet reached required conditions. The lower canines according to the Brandt formula are from 1.50 to 1.05, the width of the lower canines at the beginning of the section should correspond to the age class and differ from the width at the base by 3 to 6 mm, which in the future makes it possible to expect even greater width in adulthood. The girth of the upper canines should correspond to the age class: In gilts - on average from 55 to 60 mm. Young cleavers (2-3 years old) have an average of 60 to 65 mm. For middle-aged loppers (from 3 to 5 years) - on average from 65 to 75 mm.

Shooting planning.

The boar plows while feeding.

When planning shooting, it is necessary to take into account the gender and age ratio in the herd, as well as the goals of the farm. Typically, under normal conditions, shooting by age class is planned as follows: 90% of the planned shooting should be for piglets and gilts (65-75% piglets, 15-25% gilts) and 10% of females and cutters that have reached trophy maturity. When carrying out shootings, it is necessary to adhere to the rules mentioned above, namely, low-productive animals should be seized first: According to the timing of farrowing - females with late (June-July) litters, including piglets, are shot. In this case, first the female is shot, and then the piglets. Gilts whose autumn weight is less than 40 kg, piglets with an autumn weight less than 20-25 kg, piglets that retained traces of striping in August, especially with signs of weakness, piglets with deviating from the normal color (white-motley and black), single females, not producing broods for 3 years, mature loppers that do not reach their maximum weight by the beginning of the rut. Mature old cleavers that have passed the highest point of their development, females and cleavers, over 8 years old. Animals that are characterized by slow movements, coughing, and passivity. Distinctive features Their exterior is sagging behind, hunched over, the hair on the back is ruffled. One misconception is common among huntsmen: they believe that the larger an old boar is, the better producer it is. Generally speaking, young females, for example, (according to the observations of S.A. Tsarev) instinctively avoid such giants. Such a “grandfather” drives away younger, but already mature males, but he does not have time to cover all the females. As a result, a large percentage of unmarried females appears, i.e. there is a decrease in herd productivity. That's why It is more rational to remove such a cleaver in time. The huge head of such a cleaver is an excellent trophy, even if its fangs are not very large. A stuffed animal from it (if there is a taxidermist on the farm) will cost a lot of money.

The material was prepared by A.I. Asinovsky,
trophy group of the Central Enterprise of the Association "Rosokhotrybolovsoyuz".

With high fertility of wild boars, there is also a high mortality rate of young animals: 2.2% of calves die at birth, 21.8% die in the first month, and 15.3% die before 6 months. Based on observations of 831 farrowings, it was found that only 60% of newborns survive to 8 months.

In accordance with the terms of obtaining objects of the animal world classified as hunting objects, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 10, 2009 No. 18, the terms of hunting, for example in the Republic of Bashkortostan, are as follows (excluding hunting for adult males):
. elk, all age and sex groups: November 1 - December 31 (clause 16);
. wild boar, all age and sex groups, with the exception of females having offspring of the current year: June 1-December 31 (clause 22);
. age up to one year: from January 1 -
February 28 (29);
. Siberian roe deer, all age and sex groups: October 1-December 31 (item 28).

“The standard for the permissible removal of ungulates under the age of 1 year, without division by gender, is established for hunting resources: elk - up to 20%, wild boar - from 40 to 80%, roe deer (European and Siberian) - up to 50% of the quota" (from the order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation dated April 30, 2010 No. 138).

Shooting wild boar underyearlings, given the high mortality rate of young animals, is a biologically justified measure that replaces natural mortality for various reasons. But not everyone knows about it, and if they know, they don’t realize it.
When preparing a document approving the limit on the production of hunting resources executive agency The state authorities of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, in accordance with orders of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia dated April 30, 2010 No. 138 and dated June 29, 2010 No. 228, determine quotas indicating (if necessary) the number of individuals under the age of one year, adult individuals.

Part 2 of Article 333.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides: “When seizing young animals (under the age of one year) of wild ungulates, the fee rates for the use of wildlife objects are set at 50 percent of the rates established by paragraph 1 of this article.”

Civil legislation provides for the recovery of not the expected, but the actual amount of unjust enrichment. If you calculate the amount of recovery of the value of illegally used hunting products, then the basis should be based on the real one, and if it is impossible to establish it - average weight meat carcasses of animals, both adult animals and young of the year, and not inflated relative to the real average established by the Model Rules of Hunting in the RSFSR.

For example, according to the Model Rules, the weight of an elk carcass to calculate the amount of recovery of the cost of meat must be 170 kg everywhere for each elk. Data from V.M. Glushkova, who has been conducting research on elk and other ungulates for more than 30 years, indicates that the average weight of an elk meat carcass in the Kirov region in different seasons fluctuates around 150 kg (six seasons, sample of 8645 elk). Therefore, the Hunting Rules in the Kirov Region establish that when calculating the cost of meat, the weight of the carcass is taken to be 150 kg. Review of literary sources and V.M.’s own research Glushkov present the following data regarding the weight of the meat carcass of young animals:
. yearling moose: females - 77 kg (plus or minus 6), males - 79 kg (plus or minus 3);
. yearling wild boar: 21-25 kg.

Even by the weight of the skin of an elk or other wild ungulate carcass left at the cutting site, one can easily determine the real weight of the animal’s meat. In other words, if the weight of wild animal meat is established in the Hunting Rules, then it must be justified, differentiated depending on age - young adults (Kraev N.V. Recovery of the cost of illegally obtained hunting products: legal problems. Journal of Russian Law, 2002).
Part 1 of Article 8.37 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses provides that for violation of hunting rules, administrative liability arises in the form of imposition administrative fine: for citizens - in the amount of one thousand to two thousand rubles with or without confiscation of hunting tools or deprivation of the right to hunt for a period of up to two years; for officials - from ten thousand to fifteen thousand rubles with or without confiscation of hunting tools.

IN judicial practice Republic of Bashkortostan, illegal hunting of wild boar, including wild boar under the age of one year, constitutes a crime under Part 1 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: illegal hunting causing major damage.

The above can be perceived as an analogue of the hunting minimum for a novice hunter or brief information about how hunting for ungulates, including ungulates under the age of one year, is formally “arranged”, and what should be expected in case of violation of legislative requirements in the field of hunting and conservation of hunting resources.
I hope everyone has already understood that there are such hunting resources as elk, roe deer and wild boar.

Immediately after August 1 of the current year (from the moment the highest official of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation approved the document approving the limit on the production of hunting resources), any hunter became aware of the volume and in which hunting grounds the quotas for the production of elk, roe deer and wild boar over 1 year were approved ( adults) and up to one year (young yearlings). Subsequently, the hunter, giving himself an account of what animal he wants to kill, personally submits an application either to the hunting user, suggesting hunting in the hunting grounds assigned to him, or to the executive authority of the subject of the Russian Federation, suggesting hunting in publicly accessible hunting grounds. That is, moral preparation for hunting elk, roe deer and wild boar under the age of 1 year (young yearling) begins from this moment.

But there is also a basic moral preparation for the prey of young ungulates, which is formed in the hunter from the moment of self-assessment of his actions: is he capable of killing an animal in general and the baby of such an animal in particular?
Hunters born and raised in rural areas, practical people. From their experience they know that piglets from domestic pigs are raised up to 1-1.5 years, young cattle - up to 1.5-2 years, in order to have a full yield of meat products from them both for themselves and for sale.

Accordingly, the hand of a practical rural hunter will not rise to young animals of a younger age.
City hunters (not all) are clever guys by nature, it’s a shame to pay a lot of money and get a “minke whale” with a team of 3-10 people: your own people will laugh at you, your family won’t understand. Screw it - so on
100 kg, no less. Or, given the poor hunting experience of most hunters, just to hit a moving target, and then, they say, we’ll figure out who fell and whether it’s worth closing the permit because of some 10 kilos...
Due to climate change and the acceleration of female ungulates, late calvings are increasingly occurring in moose and wild boars, as a result of which stripes weighing 15 kg or less (5 kg) are found in the hunting grounds of Bashkiria in October-November (December).

Thanks to the care of a number of hunting farms and contrary to natural selection, such babies survive until spring, and then quite realistically bear the same later offspring.
Many hunters are deeply convinced that a cat-sized minke or roe deer simply cannot be shot, they are still small, they have to grow and grow. Some people sincerely think that a permit to hunt wild boars under the age of
At 1 year of age (young yearlings), animals with a live weight of at least 30 kg, or even larger, should be shot. It is impossible to convince them; with such explanations you yourself fall into the category of monsters. Sometimes state game inspectors support such misconceptions out of pity.

Check this situation not easy.
Ministry natural resources and ecology of Russia, issuing order No. 512 dated 06.11.2010 “On approval of the Hunting Rules”, which will come into force in the near future, established the timing of moose hunting (all age and sex groups) from October 1 (?!) to January 15; for wild boar (all sex and age groups) from June 1 to February 28 (29) (with the introduction of a ban on hunting by drive, drive, and the use of hunting dogs from January 1 to February 28 (29). Everything is clear about the wild boar - ASF. Apparently, it’s not a pity?!

The bottom line is that we have a fairly massive harvest of adult ungulates under permits issued for the harvest of ungulates under the age of 1 year (fingerlings), and in the future, another killing of the breeding stock.
What is this? Legal illiteracy, a deliberate violation based on impunity and insufficient control on the part of state hunting supervision and hunting users, or the cowardice of the hunter?

In addition, on many farms there is a fine for shooting a pig, and the cleaver, with his characteristic caution, rarely goes out to the numbers, so it turns out that our animal is a wild boar for up to a year. And if we take into account the current prices for the production of ungulates, one elk “pulls” 6-8 wild boars, so after performing simple arithmetic operations, our company came to the conclusion that a dozen and a half, albeit less valuable trophies, are much nicer than the pair of elk that were originally “ included" in the "financial estimate" of our team.

The planned trip was not a weekend hunt, but five full hunting days; under certain circumstances, the trip could last a week, because in addition to wild boars, there was a desire to chase small game - a hare and a fox. So, in addition to a slug gun, they also needed a shotgun, but they were allowed to take only one thing - border and customs restrictions that were difficult to understand. The hunting area where the “big” hunt was to take place was already outside our new homeland, as they say now, in the near abroad. Considering our residence in the capital, we can say in the near future, since the distance to the hunting place was not at all critical, and taking into account the hunting conditions and the prices set, the extra hundred kilometers did not play a special role.

The difficulty, it turned out, was different. It was decided to go with smooth-bore weapons. For someone without rifled barrel, this decision did not matter; others who were accustomed to using a carbine on animal hunts were a little upset. But it would seem to be a trifle, it doesn’t matter what kind of gun you’ll be on the show with, the main thing is that there is game. Taking a serious approach to the upcoming hunt, it turned out that this was not entirely true. Possible fines for a miss and a wounded person imposed a certain responsibility on the participants in the hunt for the accuracy of the shot. But sending a bullet, aiming correctly from a smooth-bore gun, is not a guarantee that it will definitely hit the target. Much depends not only on the characteristics of the gun, but also on the ammunition used, mainly on the design of the bullet used. And besides, the young wild boar is a small beast; in its winter tousled stubble it seems much larger than it really is, and a deviation of 20-30 cm - the usual spread of lead bullets, even with precise aiming, can leave the shooter without a trophy.

Therefore, before the trip, I, as having some experience in shooting, was tasked with selecting appropriate cartridges for the upcoming hunting trip. The main requirement is clear, the most accurate shot. Of course, boar buckshot could solve all the problems, but the rules of driven hunts for ungulates require only a bullet cartridge.

Taking into account the above, the requirement for a bullet cartridge could be formulated according to the following points:1. Accuracy; 2. Sufficient stopping power; 3. Application in semi-automatic and double-barreled shotguns. Almost immediately, with some exceptions, cartridges with domestically produced bullets were rejected; not only the lead components of the bullets looked too makeshift, but also the plastic stabilizers and containers, if present, and the difference in weight, and sometimes in size, was not expected accurate shooting and stable hits.

Glavpatron - LLC "Cartridge Manufactory" offered cartridges with a 12-caliber bullet "Gualandi" (Italian company "Bashieri & Pellagri") weighing 32 g. Guaranteeing accuracy at 50 m of no more than 120 mm. Perhaps the results of the zeroing can be attributed to the characteristics of my gun or the skill of the shooter, but the spread of bullets turned out to be somewhat large. High accuracy was not possible with this bullet and using cartridges from other manufacturers. The light bullet 28.4 gr showed itself somewhat more reassuringly. BRENNEKE (brenneke) cartridge from Rottweil, but still I would like to have a slightly higher accuracy.

Azot Company, did not claim high accuracy of its bullets, but its “Tandem” and “Nitrogen” bullets fit within the stated 20 cm, which indicated the honesty of the manufacturer. As a backup option, I selected “Trio” cartridges, 3 lead balls (d=11.5mm) in a container (in 2 half-shells), covering a 50 m circle with a diameter of no more than 45 cm.

I really liked the dozen and a half cartridges given to me by the famous hunter writer Sergei Losev, equipped with a bullet designed by S.T. Mitichkina. There was only one drawback: after test shooting, there were only ten rounds left, which was clearly not enough for the upcoming hunt. It is a pity that this ammunition has not yet appeared on sale.

The well-known popular “POLEVA” bullets, Along with the most accurate shots, they suddenly gave such an inaccurate hit, which could only be explained by the low standard of production of these sub-caliber bullets.

We admired the technical characteristics of the cartridge with the ZENIT bullet, with a fantastic ballistic coefficient - 4.7; having a dispersion diameter at a distance of 100 m - 10 cm. There was only one thing that upset me: these cartridges were never on sale. But the very design of the arrow-shaped bullet gave rise to the idea of ​​looking for similar bullet cartridges.

The search was successful. Cartridges from SAUVESTRE, almost completely coincided with the declared characteristics. Having minor differences in weight and characteristics, primarily, the deformation of the bullet body when hitting an animal, the vertical deflection of the bullets was within 1-4 cm at a distance of up to 100 m from the aiming point, essentially a direct shot. The speed and energy of the bullet was more than enough not only for a young boar, but also for larger game. Depending on the weight and design, the speed and energy of the bullet were characterized by the manufacturer with the following parameters. See table (70 mm cartridge).

Distance speed, m/s.			Energy at a distance, J.
Slice	50 m	100 m	Slice	50 m	100 m
530-565	431-473	345-394	3062-3592	1951-2517	1250-1747

Cartridges loaded into a 76 mm case, such as “magnum” and “semi-magnum”, were superior in energy to a simple cartridge, depending on the firing distance from 30% to 70%.

This is how the company describes its new cartridge with a arrow-shaped bullet. The "BFS" ​​Sauvestre bullet is a two-piece arrow-bullet with a corrugated surface. A conceptually new bullet cartridge for shotguns, already used and appreciated by many hunters, was developed by the French engineer Jean-Claude Sauvestre.

The cartridge is intended for smooth-bore shotguns, both with and without choke constrictions. Its ballistic qualities come from the combination of a pointer with a very hard central core and an original container made of two ring halves that guarantee gas-tightness and flexible movement in the barrel. As soon as this part leaves the barrel, the ring halves will fall away from the bullet without disturbing its initial flight path. The BFS cartridge is safe to use and extremely comfortable to shoot.

Animals.

The structure of wild boars. Animals of large or medium size. The height at the withers of adult male Caucasian boars is on average 103 cm, with fluctuations from 93 to 120 cm, in females - on average 75 cm (61-96 cm). Body length in males is from 150 to 205 cm, in females - from 129 to 169 cm (on average 144 cm). The overall value is an indicator of racial disparities. Boars Western Europe And western regions Russia is smaller than the boars of the Caucasus and Central Asia. For males from Germany, figures are given for a body length of 168 cm and a height at the withers of 89 cm. The largest are the wild boars of the Far East, but a smaller race lives in Transbaikalia and Mongolia. The live weight of adult males from the environs of the Caucasian Nature Reserve ranges from 64 to 178 kg, females - from 48 to 109 kg (on average 68 kg - Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). As you can see, males are much larger than females. average value animals in a particular population depends to a large extent on the conditions of existence and on the degree of persecution by humans. Even at the beginning of this century, when they were hunted less, in the Caucasus there were animals weighing up to 250-300 kg (Markov, 1932) and with a body length without a tail of about 2 m (Dinnik, 1910). With the increase in fishing, a small proportion of animals reach the age limit.

In the area of ​​Ordzhonikidze, where they are intensively hunted, the average and maximum weight of wild boars is less than in areas adjacent to the Caucasus Nature Reserve, where they are persecuted to a much lesser extent (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

Features of the build of a wild boar compared to a domestic pig are: big head with a long elongated muzzle and powerfully developed fangs in adult males, as well as a relatively short and laterally compressed flattened body on high strong legs. It is characteristic of a wild pig that the height at the withers is noticeably higher than the height at the rump (high anteriority). In general, the front part of the body gives the impression of being more powerfully developed than the back.

The length of the head in large specimens can reach up to 60 cm. The chest circumference in adults is on average about 145 cm. The tail is about 24-25 cm long (maximum 32 cm), but, in contrast to the domestic pig, is not twisted in the form of a spiral, but straight; when running it rises vertically. There are no warty skin projections on the face, as in S. verrucosus.

The “piglet” at the end of the muzzle has the shape of a transverse oval with convex outer and upper edges. Its height is about 3/4 of its greatest width. The upper half of the surface of the patch is bare and wet; the lower one is lined with very sparse short hair. The edges of the patch protrude somewhat beyond the level of neighboring areas of hair-covered skin of the muzzle. The ears are erect with pointed ends.

One of the notable features of adult male wild boars is the so-called “kalkan”. The latter is a thickening of the connective tissue layer of skin on the sides of the back of the chest and neck. It reaches its greatest thickness, up to 4 cm, in the area of ​​the shoulders and shoulder blades, gradually thinning towards the back, head and stomach. Kalkan is so dense that it is difficult to cut with a sharp knife, even when fresh. When cut, it has the appearance and consistency of a callus or fibrocartilage. The statement that the boar is a layer of resin on the surface of the skin as a result of the friction of the wild boar on the trees is based on a misunderstanding. In females, the Kalkan does not develop. In males it becomes especially thick during estrus.

The body, like that of other types of pigs, is covered with bristles, between which in the cold season there is a thick, rather coarse, but still crimped undercoat of the nature of fluff (in the southern races it may be completely absent). On the underside of the neck and back of the abdomen, the hair is directed forward (towards the head), on the rest of the body - back. The length of the guard hairs on the body is about 6-7 cm. On the back of the head, dorsal part of the neck and withers, the bristles are lengthened to 12-13 cm, but do not form a prominent mane or comb. The ends of the hair that forms the bristles are usually split into 3-6 thinner bristles, usually curved to the sides. The bristle hairs are finer in females compared to males, and also appear to be finer in western boars compared to eastern ones. On the head, ears, and limbs below the hock and carpal joints, the hair is shorter and, in addition, the ends of the bristles are not split. At the end of the tail, coarse hair forms a brush up to 20 cm long.

General color of the boar winter time brown with various shades almost black to gray or yellow color. Wild pigs in the western part of their range are darker in color. The wild boars of the Caucasus and Central Asia are lighter in color. The undercoat is light brown or dark chestnut in color, lighter on the lower parts of the body. In summer it is short, sometimes it can be completely absent. Differences in the color shades of wild boars in different regions and separate parts the body of one animal depends on the size of the lightened ends of the bristles, the degree of their lightening, the color and density of the undercoat. Shorter hair that is light throughout almost the entire length causes the whitish coloration of the end of the muzzle and light stripes on its sides, on the cheeks and throat, especially clearly expressed in boars of the Far East. In this case, white spots and stripes clearly demarcated from neighboring areas are not formed. The coloring of the forehead is sometimes lighter than the body, sometimes, on the contrary, darker (in wild boars of eastern Siberia and the Far East). The color zonation of individual hairs on the forehead is characteristic; the light area is occupied not by the end of the hair, but by the middle part, while its base and top are black in color.

The skull of a wild boar has a moderately developed facial and brain part in length compared to other species. The length of the skull in small races is from 345 to 375 mm, in large ones it exceeds 400 mm, and in males it can reach 490 mm. Some features of the skull (the nature of the frontal-facial profile, the shape and proportions of the lacrimal bones, the relative length of the facial part) are differences between the subspecies. Of the incisors, the first two (middle) pairs are more developed; the third pair is underdeveloped. In the upper jaw, the incisors are wide, curved and set apart from each other, especially the last (third) pair; the first and second pairs are directed downwards and towards the teeth of the same name on the other side. The narrow chisel-shaped incisors of the lower jaw are directed almost straight forward, located close to each other; only the alveoli of the last (third) bunk are sometimes separated from the neighboring ones, as well as from the fangs, by a gap of 2-3 mm. Between the incisors and canines in the upper jaw there is a more significant toothless gap 2-3.5 cm long. The length of the lower canines in adult males is 6-10 cm. Their posterior edge, in contrast to some other types of pigs, is wider than the outer one and is worn against the front surface of the curved teeth. sides and up the upper canines. The abrasion surface on both the lower and upper canines also includes the top of the tooth. This determines, on the one hand, constant sharpness and refinement, and on the other, limits their growth, especially the upper ones, and length. In rare cases, when the abrasion does not involve the top of the upper canines, the latter continue to grow and, bending in a ring upward and inward, can perforate the nasal bones. These cases of excessive canine growth should, however, be classified as anomalies and not the norm. Of the molars, the last posterior molars (M3 and M3) are the best developed. The cusps on the back of these teeth (hypocone) usually form an additional row; The hypocone is especially well developed in wild boars in the western part of their range. Those located in front of the last posterior root tooth gradually decrease in size.

Habitat and distribution of wild boars

The ancestor of the modern Palaearctic wild boar is probably S. priscus Serr. from the Upper Pliocene. The earliest boar-related remains are known from the early Quaternary layers of Syria and the British Isles, and in the Pleistocene the boar inhabited the temperate and warm regions of southern, western and eastern Europe and at least Central Asia.

Currently, the distribution area of ​​this species extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and covers northern Africa, middle, southern and eastern Europe, as well as Small, Middle, Central and East Asia north of the Himalayas, to southern Siberia, Transbaikalia, the Far East and some islands of Japan inclusive. In earlier times, the range was even wider and, in addition to the British Isles, also included the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, where wild boar is currently absent in the wild. The once continuous habitat of the wild boar appeared relatively recently (probably in the middle of the 18th or early XIX c.) torn apart in the European part of the Soviet Union.

On the territory of Russia, the distribution area of ​​the wild boar has decreased significantly already in historical times. During the time of the Novgorod principality, for example, there were a lot of wild boars near Novgorod itself,1 in the 13th century. even 60 miles north of the latter. In the Kostroma governorate, wild boars were found in late XVIII V. (Kirikov, 1953). A. N. Formozov (1946) connects the northern border of wild boar distribution with the line of the average maximum depth of snow cover 30-40 cm. In addition to the depth of snow cover, undoubtedly, the degree of soil freezing (i.e., winter sub-zero temperatures) plays an important limiting role, making it difficult digging the soil in search of food.

As for the territory of the Ukrainian and Moldavian SSR, back in the 30s of the last century, wild boar was a common animal in all the forests of Volyn and Podolia (Eichwald, 1830). In addition, it was not only found in the floodplains of large rivers, but even entered the steppe along the valleys of small rivers. In the middle of the last century, he was an ordinary animal in northern parts Kyiv and Chernigov provinces.

Biology of wild boars

The wild boar's habitats are varied and depend largely on the natural conditions of a particular area. It can inhabit valleys and deltas of large and small rivers, coastal lowlands, forests, mountains, up to the alpine zone. In certain seasons, it does not even avoid desert landscapes. However, wild pigs tend to stick to damp, swampy areas near water bodies, where they can find mud puddles in which they love to swim.

The seasonality of habitats is determined to a large extent by the availability and accessibility of food supply. A necessary condition is also the presence of reliable shelters in the habitat area. As the latter, the wild boar serves dense thickets of reeds, thorny and intertwining bushes, tall weeds, creases, and young growth. coniferous forest. The wild boar not only passes freely, but also rushes in places where it is almost impossible not only for a person, but also for a dog to pass. The entire body of the animal is adapted to movement under these conditions with a streamlined, laterally compressed shape, on short legs, with a cone-shaped head, and small, deep-set eyes.

In the western regions of Europe (in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, and the forests of Belarus, Ukrainian Polesie, in the Smolensk and Bryansk regions), the wild boar’s favorite habitats are low-lying wetlands of mixed and broadleaf forest. In the bush populated areas They stay in the most remote areas of the forest, near rivers and streams with thickets of tall reeds. In autumn and winter, especially during years of abundant acorn harvest, oak groves are typical habitats. In the eastern Carpathians, in the summer, wild boars climb the mountains above the crooked forest zone and graze in open meadows at night.

In the Caucasus, wild pigs live both in lowlands and in the mountain belt. Their favorite habitats are reed thickets in the floodplains of large rivers (Kuban, Terek, Kuma, Kura, etc.), as well as damp swampy lowlands to the very coast, the Black and Caspian Seas. During the daytime, wild boars hide in the reeds, trampling numerous paths diverging in all directions. At night they go out to feed in more open places - meadows, fields and even vegetable gardens. In the mountains, wild boars stick mainly to the forest zone. In places of intense persecution, daylight hours are spent in the most “strong” (difficult to pass) places: in thickets of rhododendron, thorns, boxwood, dense small oak trees, spruce forests, and thorny bushes. Seasonal features in the placement of wild boars are determined by the food supply, and in winter, in addition, by the nature of the snow cover; cover. A significant part of the wild boars (females with piglets, old males) spend the summer in the lower forest belt, in the cultural zone; part of the population (young males, gilts, single pigs) rises to the mountains, often reaching the zone of alpine meadows up to 2500 m above sea level. m., and occasionally even into the habitats of tur and chamois. From the end of summer and throughout autumn, the bulk of animals concentrate in groves of wild fruit (apple, pear, cherry plum) and nut trees (oak, beech, chestnut, plane tree). The location of animals in winter also largely depends on the presence of fallen acorns and nuts. However, the limiting factor at this time is also the depth of the snow cover. With a snow depth of 60-80 cm, movement and obtaining food becomes very difficult, even for large animals.

In some cases, wild boars do not avoid the proximity of human settlements. Their damage to agricultural crops located even on personal plots. In a number of areas in winter, wild pigs stay close to haystacks, which serve as both protection from the cold and a source of food for them.

Boar feeding

All members of the pig family, including the wild boar, are omnivores. Along with the plant food that constitutes their main diet, wild pigs willingly eat animal products available to them, from earthworms to the corpses of birds and large mammals.

The composition of plant feed depends on the natural conditions of the habitat and varies seasonally. A constant component of a wild boar's food, especially in the absence or lack of fruit-bearing trees, are herbaceous plants, both in the form of their underground parts (rhizomes, tubers, bulbs) and above-ground ones. In a number of regions of Central Asia, rhizomes and shoots of reeds, cattails and other coastal plants, apart from animal food, constitute almost the only source of existence for wild boars throughout the year. The above-ground green parts of herbaceous plants (cereals, forbs) are of greatest importance in the food of wild boars in spring and early summer. In the Caucasian Nature Reserve, the plants in which they eat the aerial parts include wild garlic, whorled rose, orchis, sorrel, core, mantle and some others (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In the lower reaches of the Volga, the favorite food of wild boars is water chestnut fruits (chilim).

The proportion of herbaceous plants in the diet of wild boars in forest areas decreases greatly, starting from the end of summer, when fruits and later nuts ripen and fall. Among the wild fruits that boar eat in the Caucasus are cherries, dogwoods, cherry plums, apples, and pears. The greatest preference is given to the latter. Along with the pulp, fruit seeds, previously crushed by molars, are also eaten. For a significant part of the year, sometimes six to seven months from September to April, the main food of wild boar in forest areas is the fruits of nutbearers - oak, chestnut, beech, walnut, plane trees, pistachios, less often hazel. The most important is oak, widespread in the European part of the wild boar's range. Acorns sometimes serve as food for wild pigs even in the spring, in a sprouted state.

The animal food of the wild boar is extremely diverse. One of the first places is occupied by earthworms and insect larvae living in the ground (beetles, darkling beetles). On occasion, they willingly eat adult insects, especially large beetles, and in years mass reproduction locusts They also feed on snails and catch frogs. On occasion, they dig up burrows of mouse-like rodents, the remains of which are often found in their stomach. The main food of wild boars in the summer is, according to B.K. Stegman (1949), fish remaining after the spring flood subsides in closed drying lakes along the banks of river channels.

The maximum amount of food eaten by an adult boar in one feeding is determined to be 2-3 kg; Dinnik (1910) found half a bucket of chewed acorns in the stomach of a wild boar he killed. If there is a shortage or difficulty in obtaining food (in winter), they eat mushrooms, roots, bark and even tree branches, moss, dry leaves, and rotten wood. They do not disdain the corpses of animals. Looking for roots, bulbs and earthworms, wild boars tear up the soil with a snout perfectly adapted for this purpose, sometimes “plowing” entire hectares. These “diggings”, or sometimes serve as a sure sign of the presence of wild boars in a given area.

Lifestyle of wild boars

Wild boars, as a rule, live in small groups, rarely more than 10-20 animals, although herds of over 100 animals are occasionally found in the Ussuri taiga. Usually the group consists of a female and her offspring. The young stay with their mother until they are one and a half to two years old, so that two generations usually go with her - the current and the previous year. Several females with their piglets can unite into one herd; at the same time, they not only walk, but also lie down together. Males from the age of 1%-2 years, as a rule, lead a solitary lifestyle, joining herds of females only for the mating period.

The wild boar's lifestyle, its seasonal and daily cycle are highly dependent on natural conditions, food harvest, and the degree of human persecution. The seasonality of accommodation is especially pronounced in mountainous areas.

In summer, some animals, as already noted, rise into the mountains to the alpine and subalpine zones. In winter, snow cover forces most of the population to concentrate in the area deciduous forests, which is most favorable during this period and in terms of feeding (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In the forest belt of the European part of the range, in summer wild boars prefer young forests, reed swamps and river banks; autumn and winter are spent in oak groves, which provide the best food supply during acorn harvest years. We have already mentioned the seasonal migrations of wild boars in desert areas. If the wild boars are not pursued, they can go out to feed during the day and rest near the feeding area. However, in most areas they are forced to hide in “strong” places during the daytime, and feed only after dark or in the early morning hours. At the same time, pigs are often forced to travel 15-20 km to the feeding area. Daily movements have a greater amplitude during the period of mass ripening of fruits and nuts, as well as during the rutting period; They are reduced in winter due to the depth of snow and frost. The movements of wild boars in deltas and river valleys are relatively small. Usually here they wander in the reeds, tearing out rhizomes and earthworms from the ground, biting off green shoots of plants, and at night they come out to neighboring meadows and crops. Only high floods force animals to leave the floodplain and sometimes move quite considerable distances.

The majority of wild boars (both males and females) make so-called beds, or nests. In the simplest cases, the bed is a small depression in the soil. In the cold season, the animal rakes or drags brushwood, ferns, dry grass and leaves into one place, resulting in the formation of a kind of bed, sometimes almost half a meter high. Pigs lie down, especially in the cold season, close to each other, with their heads towards the wind. The beds are located secretly under trees, near stones or in the thicket of the forest, and in river deltas and swamps - among the reeds on an elevated, dry place. Wild boars use a single bed for a more or less long time only in winter, when their mobility becomes less. In the southern regions of Central Asia, bedding areas serve as protection for wild boars from the summer heat and sandstorms. In these cases, they represent holes dug by pigs in the ground under coastal cliffs, under tree roots, in gorges and sometimes reaching a depth of 1 m. In Latvia, wild boars sometimes climb into haystacks in winter.

The boar's voice is similar to that of a domestic pig and consists mainly of grunts and squeals. When attacked or frightened, pigs may make short sounds such as “doo-doo-doo” or “o-o-o” (“buzz”), and males may sniffle or roar. In general, even when wounded, they are very silent. Among the senses, the boar has well-developed hearing and smell. In the wind, he sometimes senses a person 350-400 m away. But his eyesight is poor (Dinnik, 1910). The boar does not have the ability to run fast. On level ground, dogs and a riding horse easily catch up with him. Swims well, easily swims across wide rivers and, if necessary, swims a kilometer or more deep into the sea.

Wild pigs begin molting in April. In the Caucasus, by the end of May - beginning of June, the old stubble and fluff completely fall out and the animals become almost naked. Suffering greatly from the bites of blood-sucking insects, wild boars climb into dense bushes, into piles of brushwood and weeds pulled for this purpose, or into puddles of mud, which form a temporary protective shell on their body. The growth of stubble begins towards the end of June, and in September it becomes long. The fluff reaches full development only in November.

Boar breeding

Wild boars reach sexual maturity by the age of one and a half years, but a significant part of them, born late or in years with unfavorable feeding conditions, begin to reproduce only in the third year. The sexual season (mating) covers the period from November to January. Its beginning and end not only fluctuate from year to year, depending on food and climatic conditions, but are not the same even for different areas in a relatively small area within one year (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938). In young females, sexual heat and mating occur at a later date. During this period, females stay in relatively large groups, up to 8-10 animals, if possible in places remote from human settlements. During the rut, pigs behave restlessly and move a lot. Males are very excited and eat little. Brutal tournament fights take place between them using fangs, sometimes ending in the death or severe injury of one of the participants in the fight. Under these conditions, the Kalkan becomes important, protecting parts of the body exposed to impacts from deep damage. The most vulnerable and dangerous areas for damage are the abdominal walls, groin and hind legs, which do not have thickened skin. The sharpest fangs are possessed and therefore the most dangerous are males aged about 4-6 years, called cleavers. The fangs of older people, although larger in size, are not so terrible, since their sharp ends become more bent not to the sides, but inward.

The duration of pregnancy is about four months. The young are born from March to May, the bulk - in April. The number of piglets in a litter ranges from 3 to 10, depending on the age of the female and the conditions of the previous autumn and wintering. The average figure in the Caucasus is currently 4-5 piglets. Young females have fewer cubs in their litter than adults. Before farrowing, the female or several of them together make a thick bed (nest) with high edges in a secluded place, in which childbirth takes place. The piglets are born helpless and do not leave the nest during the first week. A pig is a good mother, protects her children, sometimes even rushes at a person (Dinnik, 1910).

More females will be born, but the sex ratio subsequently levels out as a result of the death of part of the population and in adults turns out to be almost the same (48% males and 52% females, according to Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

It is believed that in natural conditions a wild boar can live up to 15-20, and in exceptional cases even up to 30 years. There are no exact data on this issue. The maximum lifespan in captivity (at the London Zoological Garden) is set at 19 years 6 months and 6 days (Flower, 1931).

The number of wild boars in the same area can change dramatically from year to year. Its fluctuations are caused by the unevenness of the feed harvest and their varying availability during the most difficult winter period, as well as the death of animals from predators, diseases and natural disasters. Poor feed harvests, deep snow and severe frosts cause mass deaths of wild pigs from starvation. Repeated cases of this phenomenon took place in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Latvia, the Caucasus, the Carpathians and Central Asia. When the snow depth is more than 55 cm, obtaining food for pigs is very difficult. The formation of crust after a thaw has the same consequences, and in treeless areas the freezing of the soil, when animals severely injure their snouts and legs, but cannot get food. A hunger strike affects not only the immediate death of animals, but also affects the quantity and quality of the offspring. Only the high fertility of pigs makes it possible to restore their numbers relatively quickly after the spontaneous death of animals. Due to a lack of food, wild boars sometimes migrate to other places and can disappear from a particular area for a number of years.

The wild boar's predatory enemies are the wolf, the tiger and, occasionally, the leopard. Under normal conditions, a wolf cannot defeat an adult male wild boar, not only alone, but even in a pack. There are known cases when an attacking wolf died from the fangs of a wild boar (Stegman, 1949). Victim of wolves large number young pigs, gilts and piglets become. Adult wild boars die from this predator only in deep snowy winters and during hunger strikes, when they can be killed in droves. Leopards in the mountains often attack wild boars; due to the rarity of the predator itself, the harm it causes does not play a significant role (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938).

In Central Asia and the Far East, wild boars are exterminated in significant numbers by tigers. It is not for nothing that the latter is called in Primorye the “Shepherd” of wild boar herds. Attacks on wild boar by other predators are random.

In deltas and river valleys, the cause of death of newly born piglets is fires in last year's reeds or high and prolonged floods; from the latter, in some years, not only the entire offspring perishes, but also a significant part of the adult animals that did not have time to move to the upper parts of the delta and remained on the narrow unflooded ridges (Isakov, 1951). In the Astrakhan Nature Reserve, artificial hummocks are successfully used to protect wild boars from floods. The latter are earthen embankments reinforced with logs on the elevated parts of the flooded islands (Dubinin, 1953).

Economic importance of wild boars

Boar is valuable as a meat animal. The meat yield, depending on the fatness of the animal, is about 55-70% of live weight. An adult male can therefore produce over 100 kg of meat; but large animals are now found relatively rarely and the average weight of a carcass in the Caucasus when harvested is determined to be 50 kg; The bulk of the population consists of six-month-old and one-and-a-half-year-old animals. Wild boars reach their best condition in November. At this time, an adult boar, weighing 160-180 kg, can produce about 18-20 kg of internal and 30-40 kg of subcutaneous fat (Vereshchagin, 1947). Males quickly lose weight during the 1st rutting period. Females retain fatness longer and lose fat only before farrowing. The marketable yield of meat in most areas is still insignificant, but with proper organization of the wild boar harvest, it can play a very significant role in creating the local food supply. In some areas of the Primorsky Territory, wild pigs have long been a source of meat for the Russian population, who store it for future use by salting. The taste and nutritional qualities of wild boar meat are very high compared to other wild ungulates. Only the meat of males during estrus has a specific smell and taste.

In addition to meat and lard, leather and bristles are used. The first can be subjected, like the skins of domestic pigs, to factory dressing. Besides, local population in the Caucasus he makes durable shoes from it - pistons or kalamani (Markov, 1932). The bristles, which are better in elasticity than those of domestic pigs (about 350-400 g per head), are used in saddlery and brush production. Finer hair and fluff are suitable for stuffing mattresses and upholstered furniture. The fangs of adult males are used as decoration. Wild pig piglets caught at a young age easily get used to humans and become tame, but we are not aware of cases of wild boars breeding at home. In wild boar habitats, crosses with domestic pigs are common. Thus, it is believed that Kakheti domestic pigs grazed in oak and beech forests are a product of such crossbreeding. The domestication of wild boar and its crossbreeding with domestic pigs can have practical significance in three ways: improving existing ones and creating new breeds of domestic pigs adapted to local conditions. Fertile hybrids of the European wild boar and bearded pig (£. barbatus Mull., Gray, 1954) are known.

The wild boar brings certain benefits by exterminating harmful insects and their larvae. However, this benefit outweighs the harm caused by the extermination of earthworms, which play a prominent role in soil formation, and by digging the soil. Sometimes entire hectares are “plowed up”, seedlings and young growth of trees are destroyed (Donaurov and Teplov, 1938), the integrity of the plant cover is damaged, and hayfields are spoiled. Wild pigs cause great harm to agricultural crops. Millet and corn crops are especially affected, sometimes completely destroyed. In hunting farms, wild boars can cause harm by destroying eggs and young birds. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, there are even known cases of wild boars attacking young large animals.

Boar hunting

The most common methods of hunting wild boar are sneaking, stalking, hunting with dogs and rounding up.

Stealth is one of the most difficult ways to catch this animal. It is possible mainly only in those areas where wild boars are relatively little persecuted by humans and are grazed during daylight hours. They hide animals at feeding areas. The main attention should be paid to ensuring that the animal does not smell a person ahead of time; therefore, the approach should be made against the wind, and not vice versa. Hunter's clothes and shoes should not emit a strong odor. Strict adherence to silence when approaching is also required; excessive camouflage is not necessary. When feeding calmly, the boar wags its tail all the time, but at the slightest anxiety and alertness of the animal, even if it continues to feed, the tail stops moving. Therefore, for a sneaking hunter, it is a sure indicator of the behavior of the animal, signaling the need to stop.

Watching for wild boars is carried out on crops and melon fields, where wild boars usually come at night. They also watch for them in feeding areas under fruit and nut trees or on paths leading from bedding areas to feeding areas, in places where animals roll in the mud. In all these cases, the hunter must choose a hiding place in the shelter of reeds, trees, large stones, etc., and always so that the wind blows not from him, but towards him. Since stalking hunting is carried out at night, the hunter must arrive at the hiding place before sunset. For obvious reasons, bright moonlit nights are chosen for hunting.

Hunting with dogs requires a significant number of the latter, moreover, well-trained and vicious ones. It consists in the fact that the unleashed dogs search for, stop and detain the wild boar until the hunter approaches. All that remains for the latter is to finish off the beast, sometimes with the help of a spear or dagger. Hounds are suitable for this hunt, but local mongrel, specially poisoned dogs are more often used. A good boar dog requires courage, viciousness and dexterity, the ability to grab the animal in places where it cannot reach with its fangs. A large percentage of dogs during these hunts die from the fangs of an angry beast. The hunter must also be careful when approaching an animal detained by dogs; the latter, seeing a man approaching directly, can rush at him, regardless of the dogs, and cripple him; Therefore, it is recommended to approach unnoticed from the side or behind.

Wild boar hunting can be very productive (Markov, 1932). In its technique, it differs little from round-up hunts for other large animals and consists in the fact that a group of beaters, surrounding a section of the forest, directs the animals to the line of shooters. And in this case, hunters must stand against the wind and maintain absolute silence. Both in the Caucasus and Central Asia, hunting wild boars on horseback is practiced. On a good horse, catching him is not difficult. It is only important to force the animal to go out into the open and cut off its retreat into thickets or rocky mountains.

Occasionally, they practice “combing” the reeds with a dog and shooting the animals that turn up. Other methods of catching wild boars (for example, catching with pits, mouths, etc.) are random in nature and large practical significance Dont Have.

Wild boar hunting involves known risks. There are no known cases of unprovoked attacks on humans, and even a wounded boar most often tries to hide. However, a wounded animal, and especially one enraged by dogs, can rush at the hunter and inflict severe injuries on him. Males deliver sharp short blows with their fangs from bottom to top. Females, on the contrary, try to knock down the enemy with a blow and then tear him with their teeth, like a dog. Males never do this. The best way to get rid of a boar's blow is to jump to the side or behind a tree; the animal rushes straight and, once missing, never returns.

Class - mammals

Infraclass - placental

Genus - pigs

Species – wild boar

Literature:

1. I.I. Sokolov "Fauna of the USSR, Hoofed Animals" Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1959.