Old Tusker and the new-borns

I've been busy lately with various wildlife projects, not least the wild boar here in the Forest of Dean. This picture shows a huge male boar. He's stood next to a 'normal' sized adult female, so you can see the size difference.  Here's a shot of him sharpening his tusks on a tree...

Here's a short video of him. He does a yawn exposing his tusks, and a shake and a stretch. He's been busy the last few days as he's been desperate to mate with one of the females in the group. When I first saw him he was frothing at the mouth and quite aggressive - classic signs of a rutting boar, even though it's not normal rutting time at the moment.



While 'Old Tusker' was busy trying to sow the seeds of new life, one of the females in the group was preparing for new life herself, and yesterday she gave birth :)  It was a real treat to see the piglets on their first day, however viewing was very limited as they're in a 'nest' of dead fern and bracken near some dark trees. Getting closer would have been risky to both myself and, more importantly, the piglets themselves. There are currently 4 sows caring for these little ones. This morning the sows were covered in frost where they led, as they kept the piglets warm. Here's a little bit of video of them as they scrambled over the sows trying to find something to suckle...



Old Tusker and the new-borns, originally uploaded by Ben Locke (Ben909).