Abstract
The wild boar population has been on a permanent increase over the last decades, causing conflicts with the requirements of modern human society. Existing effort to stabilize wild boar numbers generally fails with one of the causes being the high reproductive potential of wild boar. The aim of this study was to assess the onset of sexual maturity in wild boar males with regard to age, physical frame and environmental conditions on the basis of testicle development and sperm production. This study assessed the dimensions of gonads and the occurrence of sperm in boars caught during common hunts. Environmental conditions were found as an important factor for growth and sexual maturity of wild boar males. The body weight was a more important factor for sperm production than the age of young wild boar males. The weight threshold for sperm production in the testes was 29 kg of live weight, which corresponds to 6 months of age on average. This study has proven that environmental conditions are a significant factor affecting the physical development of male wild boars, more specifically the growth rate of their body frames and the onset of sexual maturity. In a better quality environment boars grow faster and enter puberty at an earlier age. Poor food supply and/or high hunting pressure result in slower body and testicular growth, as well as the production of sperm at a later age (approx. 2-3 months later).
Highlights
The wild boar population has been on a permanent increase over the last decades, causing conflicts with the requirements of modern human society
The aim of this study was to assess the onset of sexual maturity in wild boar males with regard to age, physical frame and environmental conditions on the basis of testicle development and sperm production
Environmental conditions were found as an important factor for growth and sexual maturity of wild boar males
Summary
The wild boar population has been on a permanent increase over the last decades, causing conflicts with the requirements of modern human society. The aim of this study was to assess the onset of sexual maturity in wild boar males with regard to age, physical frame and environmental conditions on the basis of testicle development and sperm production. This study has proven that environmental conditions are a significant factor affecting the physical development of male wild boars, the growth rate of their body frames and the onset of sexual maturity. The main reason for the interest in wild boar is the steady and rapid increase in their populations over the last decades (Massei et al 2015) and the resulting conflicts with the requirements of modern human society These conflicts are reflected e.g. in damage to agricultural crops (Herrero et al 2006), negative effects on environmental diversity (Massei and Genov 2004), and the spread of parasites and diseases, e.g. the African swine fever (Sánchez-Vizcaíno et al 2013) or hepatitis E virus (Carpentier et al 2012).
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