The ears of the humpback pig that lives in the Tellico area of eastern Tennessee are large and prominent, and the tips often droop. The ears of the European boar are small, pointed and erect. Some individuals that have been killed or captured near the Tellico Area showed some evidence of having been mestizo. In the immediate area where the “Rooshian” roams the desert as king of the woods, no specimens have been taken showing evidence of interbreeding.
The Russian boar, being at home in the mountains, has thrived and multiplied, apparently fully adapting to the area. Experienced mountain guides claim that they can whip any animal on all fours in a fair fight and that they can outrun a startled deer. Wild boars’ tusks, curving outwards, are their main weapons in a fight with other animals. They have both upper and lower fangs, with the upper set serving as whetstones for the lower set, which are always very sharp.
Sometimes these strange wild beasts travel in packs, sometimes alone. They typically range from six to fifteen miles a day. They sleep most of the day in thickets of laurel and ivy, feeding during the early morning and late afternoon. They live on roots, grasses, twigs, acorns, hazelnuts, beeches, berries, persimmons, wild grapes, muscat, papayas, ground-nesting birds and eggs, snakes, and salamanders. There are some reports of their devouring young fawns. Their appetites are huge, especially those of the wild old European sows who happen to be piglets.
Imported boars seem to particularly enjoy rattlesnakes. Although the bite of a large rattlesnake has little or no effect on the Rooshian, the boar will kill the snake in a way that ensures little chance of being bitten. A cornered rattlesnake will naturally coil up and prepare to attack, and the boar will start running around the snake in circles, eventually jumping on the venomous snake until it is literally hacked to pieces by the sharp hooves.
While incursions into deer through wild boar foraging habits seem insignificant, they do affect the population of grouse, wild turkey, and other ground-nesting birds that inhabit the same area. They invariably devour the eggs of ground-nesting birds when they come across a nest, and it is not unusual for them to catch and eat a bird trying to protect the nest. Wild boars also capture and consume numerous young ground-dwelling birds.
