Boar Hunting Research Articles

Wild boar abundance and hunting effectiveness in Atlantic Spain: environmental contraints

Wild boar populations have increased over the species’ entire Spanish range even in areas with no direct influence of humans (like artificial feeding, watering, etc.). Some detrimental effects were raised in relation with the wild boar increase, which justifies the development and improvement of methods to estimate wild boar abundance and population trends. Harvesting information is important for planning the extraction policy and managements goals, mainly for elusive species as wild boar. Nevertheless this information could be biased by several factors, being hunting effectiveness one of them. Thus, our objective was to investigate how landscape structure affects wild boar abundance and hunting effectiveness. Based on data of 44 game territories for 4 seasons (from 1998-1999 to 2001-2002), we quantified hunting effectiveness as the proportion of animals caught in relation to the total seen by hunters. Then, we estimated a corrected wild boar abundance index following the De Lury’ method. Twenty two factors related with landscape structure, topography, human infrastructures, and hunting pressure, were considered to study their effects on wild boar abundance and hunting effectiveness by means of General Linear Models (GLM). Landscape structure factors that possibly resembled increased visibility (abundance of fern and landscape diversity index) and availability of wild boar resting places (percentage with south-west orientation) statistically associated with effectiveness. Factors related food availability (abundance of pre-forest but also landscape diversity index) statistically and positively associated with wild boar abundance. We suggest that corrected wild boar abundances should be considered in monitoring schemes to obtain more suitable wild boar abundance estimates. The applicability of hunting effectiveness data in catch-effort methodologies is discussed.

A case of hunting death due to an overpenetrated bullet

The authors report the case of a death which occurred during wild boar hunting. The scene details revealed that the victim and the beast were aligned in the visual shooting path and the victim had been struck by overpenetrating bullet shot by his friend on the neighbouring stand. The fatal entrance wound was on the victim's left chest. The authors emphasise the importance of the exhaustive forensic investigation, including autopsy of the beast, in cases like this, in order to distinguish accident from homicide.

Wild boar hunting and socioeconomic trends in Northern Greece, 1993–2002

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations increased worldwide in the last decade, but boar hunters have decreased. To maintain and increase hunters and to clarify the problems for sustainable hunting, we investigated their activities, attitudes, and socioeconomic trends. Drama and Kavala, Northern Greece have the best wild boar habitat in the country. We estimated the percentage of hunters hunting wild boar in Drama and Kavala and studied their profile to determine how the recent socioeconomic changes in the region affected numbers, activities, attitudes, and socioeconomic trend, from 1993 to 2002. In 1993, data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed randomly to 411 and 480 hunters in Drama and Kavala, respectively. In 2002, 320 and 400 questionnaires were collected in Drama and Kavala, respectively. In Drama, 13.6% of the hunters hunted wild boar in 1993 and 12.3% in 2002. In Kavala, 10.0% hunted wild boar in 1993 and 9.3% in 2002. The average age of hunters in Drama in 1993 was 37.9 years and 39.4 in 2002. In Kavala, the average age per hunter was reduced from 42.3 to 37.4 years. The average hunting experience had increased by 4.8% and 0.6%, respectively. In 2002, there was an increase in the distance traveled for hunting, the level of education of the hunters, the number of people working in the private sector, and in the public service. Wild boar hunters are mainly married, middle income class, earning 4,000–7,500 Euros/year. The above data will allow managers to better understand the socioeconomics of the hunters of wild boar and may be able to use the data to encourage increased hunting.

Hunting for Boars with Pliny and Tacitus

This paper will examine intertextual references between the Dialogus of Tacitus and the letters of Pliny, in particular those regarding boar hunting. It will argue that there are clues in the letters of Pliny which can help us to understand the relationship between these two writers as well as the tone and purpose of the Dialogus. By studying Pliny's letters to Tacitus on hunting (1.6, 9.10), one can see the specific reference to boars as an allusion to Marcus Aper, the chief spokesperson for contemporary eloquence in the dialogue, indicating a degree of humor and irony in the Dialogus that is further displayed by the similarity of Pliny's opening exhortation in Epistle 1.6, ridebis et licet rideas, to the final words of the Dialogus, cum adrisissent, discessimus. Moreover, the dialogue between Pliny and Tacitus in Pliny's letters can be seen as an indication that the Dialogus itself may have been revised throughout the years, thus problematizing the debate about the “publication date” of the Dialogus.

City Life in the Midst of the Forest: a Punan Hunter-Gatherer’s Vision of Conservation and Development

Levang, P., S. Sitorus, and E. Dounias. 2007. City life in the midst of the forest: a Punan hunter-gatherer’s vision of conservation and development. Ecology and Society 12(1): 18. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02036-120118

Wild Boar Hunters Profile in Shimane Prefecture, Western Japan

Wild boars have been expanding their range and seriously damage agricultural crops all over Japan. Such situation is obvious in Shimane Prefecture, western end of Honshu Island, where most of its territory is mountainous. Population control is strongly expected by farmers and administration. However, the number of hunters has been drastically decreasing since the 1970's. To maintain and increase hunters, we must investigate their activities and attitudes to clarify the problems. Questionnaires were conducted in 2001 on 310 hunters who renewed their hunting license at local office. The response rate was 80.0%. Wild boar hunters accounted for 61.6%, and the others were mostly bird hunters (32.5%). The objective of wild boar hunting was predominantly nuisance control, and very few hunted for money despite of its high commercial value. Most of them were farmers (35.8%) and/or farm village dwellers (53.6%), and used the leg snare (61.4%). Despite the stable number of hunters, the number of hunters using guns is decreasing. Hunters do not to appear to be interested in maintaining the local hunting society. Leisure is the most pursued objective rather nuisance control. Therefore, actions should be taken to stimulate hunting as a leisure activity thus maintaining an important tool for wild boar management.

Gli Ungulati in Italia: status, gestione e ricerca scientifica

Ungulates in Italy: status, management and scientific research. Ungulates in Italy have experienced in the last decade a further increase of their distribution and, pos- sibly, consistence. This trend has been very obvious in the central and northern part of Italy, on the contrary, in south Italy the increase of ungulates populations is quite slow if any. A partial exception is Sardinia where Sardinian red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) has been reintroduced into the four provinces of the island. In this frame the relevance of the increa- se of ungulates for the increase of wolves (Canis lupus) in Italy must be emphasized. Ungulates management has also experienced a general development in the last decade, even if deep differences between south and central-north Italy still persist. Well conducted rein- troductions have allowed to fill many gaps in the species distribution. Ungulates hunting bags size, suggest an increased importance of ungulates in the hunting activities in Italy. Selective hunting with rifles on cervids and bovids was established in wide areas of north and central Italy, mainly as consequence of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) widespread pre- sence. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) hunting still represents a problem for ungulate management in Italy. Almost 50% of the provinces where wild boar is hunted does not collect hunting bag statistics, and only 35% of them try to roughly estimate the consistence of the populations. The traditional dogs hunting of wild boar has expanded to areas where wild boar was recently and illegally reintroduced, as south Italy and the Alps region, and this is a serious problem for the development of a more rational and correct hunting practices. New possibi- lities of hunting management of red deer in central Italy, and in the future of alpine ibex (Capra ibex), are to be considered. An increase of the presence of trained wildlife managers in public administrations is suggested, as a further step in the development of a proper mana- gement of ungulates and other wildlife. Scientific research on ungulates in Italy was, in the last decade, quite uneven both in the spe- cies and in the disciplines chosen. There is a clear opportunistic approach to subjects, that often has no link with the real necessities of wildlife management. The development of long term studies is suggested, together with a more efficient coordination among scientist in the choice of the research subjects. Last but not least a more efficient founding mechanisms is needed in order to avoid money waste and to promote serious research programmes.

Distribution and numbers of the wild boar population in south eastern Poland

By using both plot sampling and line intercept snow track index, the population density and numbers of wild boar in Bieszczady Mountains and Bieszczady Foothills was estimated during February 2000. The total number of wild boar inhabiting the study area (140.4 thousands ha of forest) was equal to 655 animals with an average population density of 4.66 wild boar per 1000 ha, ranging from 0.0 (Forest Districts of Cisna and Wetlina) to 23.21 individuals/1000 ha (Krasiczyn Forest District). The low density of wild boar in Bieszczady Mountains is caused by the high wolf predation and overharvest rate. The recomendation is to stop wild boar hunting in Bieszczady Mountains during the next 4 hunting seasons, and to use the harvest rate equal to 30% of the population size in February.

Estimate of the size of a hunted population

We present an iterative method to estimate the size of a hunted population by using the hunting statistics. This method differs from the Seber's catch per unit effort model (based on a sampling Poisson process with regard to effort). It uses the logistic linear model in order to estimate the capture probability for each hunting. For each and every hunting, the probabilities of capture being known, we give the maximum likelihood estimates of the population size, as well as its confidence interval. This method has been applied to the results of wild boar ( Sus scrofa) hunting.

La passion de la chasse dans une commune cévenole

Boar-Hunting Passion in a Cévenol District. Boar- hunting appeared in the cévenol district of Valleraugue at the beginning of the century. At first there were only a few hunters, then small groups, and in the last ten years they organized themselves in a sort of team-game, in which the major part of the men of the district participate. This paper tries to show that such a craze is directly linked with the social change. In this district which completely lost its rural traditions, boar hunting is the only local activity which allows the inhabitants to assert their mastery over the land and their cévenol identity.Boar- hunting is a passion because it backs up an identity which was dying out.