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Wild boar
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note [Dutch] |
Today one of my first short vacation to the Veluw'.
It's the mother who feeds there young ones.
I hope you like it.
Thanks for looking and critique.
Yesterday I shot my first new autumn pictures, so in the next month we start with fungi pictures.
Latin name - Sus scrofa
WHAT ARE BOARS? Boars (a type of wild pig) are not native to North America. They were brought here from Europe, first by the Spanish explorers in the 1500’s (for food) and later in the 1900’s by people who wanted to hunt the pigs for sport. The wild boars you see today are the great grandchildren of European boars brought here a long time ago. They are NOT pink with curly tails. Wild boars are large - sometimes 5 feet long, and weigh up to 300 pounds. They have stiff black fur and straight tails. The males (boys) have tusks that curl out of their mouth. They are not long like an elephant’s tusks, but they are still 2-5 inches long and can really hurt you! (Girl boars have smaller tusks that don’t stick out much.) Sometimes wild boars will breed with pot-bellied pigs. The babies will probably grow up to have black fur and straight tails, but they may have fat bellies and a white stripe on their foreheads.
HOW DO THEY LIVE IN THE WILD? Boars like to live in forests near streams or ponds. Since boars don’t have any sweat glands, they must wallow in the mud to cool off. Wallowing may also help get rid of fleas and ticks. Boars are fast runners and good swimmers. In the autumn, they eat forest foods like acorns, hickory nuts, and pecans. During the rest of the year, boars eat roots, grass, fruits, mushrooms, bugs, eggs, and even dead animals. If there is plenty of food, the boars will stay in a 10 square mile territory. They really dig up the ground while looking for roots. Boars have tough noses, or snouts, which help them dig. They have an excellent sense of smell and can sniff out underground foods. Their eyesight is not very good, but they hear very well. Their ears stand up straight; they don’t flop down like a farm pig’s ears.
WHAT ABOUT BABY BOARS? Mother boars usually have 1 litter a year, with as many as 14 babies. The mother may build a ground nest of sticks and grass, or just scratch together whatever leaves are on the ground nearby. Her babies live here for 1 week until they are big enough to follow her around. They are born with light brown fur that has white stripes from head to tail. Mother boars can be very dangerous when protecting their babies; fathers live off by themselves. After about 45 days, the babies can find their own food, but may still stay with the mother. When they are 4 - 6 months old, they turn a cinnamon brown color. At 1 year old, they are full-grown and have brown or black fur. Some keep reddish stripes as adults.
WHY ARE THEY CALLED EXOTIC PESTS? Since boars are not native (from North America), they are called “exotic” or foreign. They are called “pests” for many reasons. When they dig up the ground for roots, they kill many native plants. When they wallow near the edge of a pond, they tear up the water plants. This causes the soil to wash away (erosion) because the plant roots can’t hold onto the dirt anymore. Wild boars get into gardens and eat all the watermelons and peanuts. They sometimes eat eggs and babies of small native animals, including endangered species, like baby sea turtles. They may also eat the acorns that native animals, like deer and turkey, need for food. Boars have very few natural predators. Because of this, boars are often hunted to keep them from damaging the environment around them. |
valy67, ferranjlloret, siggi, CeltickRanger, xTauruSx, nglen, CatherineD, goldyrs, Noisette, jaycee has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
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- valy67
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1880 W: 59 N: 2915]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(8733) - [2009-09-26 22:56]
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Hello Gert !
What an amazing picture ! I love to see wild boars, we have them in our forests, but it must have been so hard to capture a mother and her babies in such a moment ! Was it taken in the wild or in some nature park ? Because I have heard they can get quite dangerous when they have babies... Anyways, your picture is wonderful, with excellent details all over, nice natural colors, and the composition as well as the POV are perfect. Very well done !
Valérie.
Hello Gert,
Congratulations for the family scene, amazing shot. Excellent shot.
TFS. Ferran
Tierna imagen con bastante realismo en los colores. Bien encuadrada. Buen Domingo Gert:
Josep Ignasi.
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- PeterZ
(17634)
- [2009-09-27 1:29]
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Hallo Gert,
Mooi tafereeltje midden in het bos. Uitstekende kwaliteit van de foto. Goede scherpte en natuurlijke heldere kleuren. Je was toch wel erg dichtbij om deze foto te nemen. Maar ze lieten zich blijkbaar niet storen.
De note is een beetje typisch, geschreven vanuit Noord-Amerika.
Fijne zondag,
Peter
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- siggi
(16330)
- [2009-09-27 2:31]
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Hello Gert,
Beautiful outlook with the family. A very beautiful disposition in the picture. Magnificent reception.
Best regards Siggi
hello Gert
full of tenderness a very beautiful photo, shot with fine POV,
fine focus excellent sharpness and details, TFS
Asbed
Hello Gert,
Lovely shot of this mom and babies wild boars:) from nice viewpoint.
TFS and greetings,
Deniz
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- nglen
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2912 W: 34 N: 8640]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(32202) - [2009-09-27 10:58]
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Hi Gert. What a fantastic picture of the young Boar . Taken with fine detail in the coats. We can see the stripes and different colours. A very nice picture. All with interesting notes. well done TFS.
Nick..
Hello Gert,
Excellent capture, unusual shot, very interesting. The composition, colors and sharpness are very good. TFS,
Catherine
A very beautiful shot, with sharp details, my dear friend Gert!
Very well done!
Goldy
Hello Gert again
beautiful capture of this mother Boers and his nice babies, a very lovely scene
i love all the fine details on the whole Family
POV and composition are excellent
Have a good night again
Jacqueline
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- jaycee
(21912)
- [2009-09-28 16:53]
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Hi Gert,
This is priceless! The nursing babies and the mama are wonderful. I would never have known that the young ones were boars. You were in the right place at the right time to get this unique shot.
Jane
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- uleko
(2839)
- [2009-09-30 13:05]
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Hello Gert,
A really lovely capture of this mother with siblings! Very well composed and beautiful details and colours!
TFS and best wishes, Ulla
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1274 W: 0 N: 2043]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(14789)