Commuting, shifting or remaining?: Different spatial utilisation patterns of wild boar Sus scrofa L. in forest and field crops during summer

Abstract

In a radiotelemetry study in North-East Germany, we analysed spatial utilisation of 22 female wild boar ( Sus scrofa) out of 21 wild boar groups during summer (2003–2006). We compared summer season home ranges (16 May–15 August) with “field home ranges”, i.e. periods between first and last appearance within cereal fields. Wild boar appeared inside fields with beginning of grain and rapeseed flowering and vanished usually with harvest. Three types of spatial utilisation patterns were defined: “field sows”, who shifted their home range entirely into fields; “commuters”, who roamed between forest and fields; and “forest sows”, who remained in the forest. Yearlings were predominantly commuters, whilst family groups did not roam but either shifted to fields or stayed in forest. Field sows had smaller mean field home ranges than total summer home ranges, whereas commuters and forest sows showed no differences. All three groups did not differ significantly in home range size measures but, however, showed different mean shifts from spring to summer home range. The home range sizes of sows of the different spatial patterns were similar, as all resources were permanently available all-over the study area. However, dislocations into outstanding profitable nutritional habitats (e.g. agricultural fields in summer) may enlarge annual home ranges of commuters and field sows.