Wild Boar are one of, if not the most, challenging of the UK’s native species. Hunted to extinction in the 17thcentury, Boar have returned some areas of the UK in recent years - most famously to the Forest of Dean, but also to West Kent, Dorset and even parts of Surrey. These are usually descendants of individuals which escaped from captivity.
Yet despite remaining something of a controversial fugitive in the British countryside, the return of Wild Boar is beginning to reveal their extraordinary symbiosis with other creatures.
To the untrained eye, Wild Boar rooting (the ploughing up of the soil with their snouts) is untidy, destructive and even offensive. However, this apparent chaos is ecologically vital.
Boar soil disturbance brings life. Their rooting reshapes the flow of soil nutrients and minerals, disrupts the activity of microbes and microinvertebrates, and unravels the intricate networks of mycorrhizal fungi. The outcome is greater habitat complexity and ecological niches for wildlife. Bare ground creation is also essential for insect life cycles and basking reptiles. No surprises then that where there are Boar, there are abundant Fungi, Oak saplings, Foxgloves, Brambles, White-Admiral Butterflies and Spotted Flycatchers. Nature doesn’t believe in being static, in neat lines or flat surfaces.
One relationship that leaves me starstruck, is the role of Boar in the dispersal of Tadpole Shrimp eggs. While these tiny creatures are common in Europe, they now survive in just two known UK ponds in the New Forest and Scotland’s west coast. These ephemeral ponds were once scattered throughout the British landscape. Wild Boar, through their wallowing behaviour, are now helping to recreate these small ponds. Even more remarkably, it’s thought they carry the Tadpole Shrimp eggs in their muddy fur, transporting them from one pond to another, journeys that can often take multiple weeks.
As Wild Boar expert Chantal Lyons puts it: “wild animals and their disturbances are essential to healthy ecosystems.”
Boars are a force of nature and one of many keystone species, such as Beavers and Pine Martens, which are now largely absent from the UK landscape. Whilst there are no plans to reintroduce Boar to Surrey anytime soon, it is vital that we work to restore many of the natural processes that these species once provided.
Will Kelsey