Wild Boar — Kaman, Wild Pig
Wild Boar — Sus scrofa Linn. (in Kyrgyz: kaman, japaiy chotchko)
Just a hundred years ago, a great number of wild boars inhabited the territory of Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan. The first researchers of Kyrgyzstan in the mid-last century noted that "everywhere, both in the steppe and in the mountains, although sporadically, the wild boar is the most numerous species of large animals" (Severtsov, 1847). Wild boars in Kyrgyzstan lived not only in large intermountain valleys but also ascended high into the mountains. They were encountered by N. A. Severtsov's expedition in the mid-nineteenth century in the Central Tien Shan along the Naryn River and especially abundant along the At-Bashi River.
With the arrival of the first Russian settlers, wild boars faced intense persecution. Wild meat was a significant support for the Russian population, and the rapid increase in the number of settlers led to a sharp intensification of wild boar hunting. In just one Semirechye region, according to incomplete data, over 1,500 heads were hunted annually from 1900 to 1905. Such overhunting could not but affect the population of this animal, and its numbers began to decline rapidly. In addition, the intensive development of valleys for agricultural use, drainage of marshy areas, and rapid reduction of reed and shrub thickets, along with the growth of settlements and increasing population, led to the complete displacement of wild boars from almost all major fertile valleys of the republic. The rise of agriculture, expansion of arable land, and the emergence of crops in close proximity to wild boar concentration areas, resulting in increased crop damage by wild animals, sometimes reaching enormous proportions, led to the classification of the wild boar, along with the porcupine and badger, as harmful animals. In southern Kyrgyzstan in the 1930s, even bounties were paid for their destruction, with the basis for this being the tails of the shot animals. Only the bristles from the nape were pulled from the killed animals, and the tails were cut off, while the carcasses were often left on the spot. Old hunters recount that during those years they sometimes killed up to 15 animals a day. During this period, the animals were particularly heavily hunted in the Pre-Fergana regions of southern Kyrgyzstan, along the Uzun-Akhmat and Chichikan rivers, and in some areas of northern Kyrgyzstan.
The measures taken halted the rapid reduction of the wild boar's territorial distribution and the catastrophic decline in its numbers. The introduction of initially strict hunting seasons and then licensed hunting, along with a complete ban on hunting in certain areas, significantly increased the population of this animal.
Currently, wild boars are common in all nut-fruit forests of the Chatkal and Fergana ranges; they have almost not suffered from persecution and remained quite numerous until recently in the inaccessible and sparsely populated Chatkal Valley, especially in the Besh-Aral area. They are also found in certain areas on the northern slopes of the Turkestan and Alai ranges, in the territories of the Osh and Uch-Korgon forestry enterprises and the Naukat experimental forestry, throughout the Atoynak range, along the Kara-Kuldja and Uzun-Akhmat rivers, in the floodplain of the Chichkan River on the southern slope of the Talas range. In the Talas Valley, wild boars have survived only in small numbers in the northwestern part, on the border with the Aksu-Jabagly Nature Reserve, while in the Kemin Valley, a few have survived in the side ravines of the northern slope of the Kungoy Ala-Too east of the Chimbulak area.
In the Issyk-Kul Basin, wild boars are found in some gorges of the Terskey Ala-Too (Djety-Oguz, Turgen, etc.), and less frequently along the Kungoy Ala-Too. In the lower reaches of the Kokomerin River (Sary-Kamish), wild boars are common.
In other areas where they were previously found, they have been exterminated and displaced. They are absent in the Kochkor Valley, on Susamyr, in the upper reaches of the Naryn River, and on the At-Bashi River. Just recently, they have been completely exterminated in the Chui Valley and on the Kyrgyz range.
In northern Kyrgyzstan, wild boars primarily inhabit the belt of coniferous (fir and juniper) forests, ascending to subalpine meadows in summer. Their numbers are low, with an average population density of this animal in forestry areas being 0.3—0.5 heads per 10 km². Only in Djety-Oguz is their density somewhat higher, with more than 1 wild boar per 10 km² of its suitable habitats.
Even lower numbers and population density of wild boars are found in the area of distribution on the Alai range in the zone of the Uch-Korgon and Osh forestry enterprises, where they are found in scattered herds in juniper sparse forests.
The population here barely reaches 200—300 heads, and the population density is below 0.3 heads per 10 km².
The number of wild boars is somewhat higher in the nut-fruit forests of the Fergana range. In the territory of all seven forestry enterprises in this area, there are about 0.5 thousand heads of animals, with an average population density of about 2 wild boars per 10 km².
Wild boars are especially numerous in the Chatkal and Agoynak ranges. Huge herds are noted not only in the nut-fruit forests of the Aflatun, Arkit, and Jangi-Dzhoy forestry enterprises and the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve but also in the mixed floodplain forests and shrub thickets of the Chatkal Valley of the Ala-Buka forestry and the gorges of Uzun-Akhmat and Chichkan of the Toktogul forestry. The high forage capacity of the habitats, less economic development of the forest areas, a large number of secluded and rarely visited places suitable for pig breeding, and the presence of a powerful reserve in this area — the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve, from whose territory wild boars are annually dispersed to adjacent forestry enterprises, ensure rapid growth in their numbers here. The population density of wild boars in forest habitats ranges from 5 to 20 - 30 heads per 10 km² suitable for habitation. In the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve, in certain areas designated as "absolute tranquility" zones, such as Suuk-Bulak and Tumanyak, the density of this animal in autumn exceeds 150 heads per 10 km² of suitable habitats. The population of wild boars here is nearly 5 thousand, which accounts for more than 80% of all their reserves in the republic.
Wild boars are social animals and usually move in groups of several individuals, along with piglets from both the current and previous year’s litters. Adult males tend to remain solitary and only join herds during the mating season. The mating season for wild boars in various regions of Kyrgyzstan typically occurs from mid-November to early January.
Its duration is about two months.
During the mating season, fights often occur between boars, and the stronger male drives away not only his weaker rival but also the piglets. Males during the mating season interfere with the normal feeding of adult females, while they themselves eat almost nothing, drink a lot, and bathe in springs. Due to constant underfeeding, by the end of the mating season, adult animals lose significant weight, especially males. Weight loss can reach 25%, and their meat becomes lean, completely unsuitable for consumption due to its persistent and unpleasant odor.
Younger females are the first to mate and give birth, followed by older ones. The duration of pregnancy is 125—130 days. Farrowing occurs from late March to late April, but piglets born even in late May are occasionally encountered. Mass farrowing in southern Kyrgyzstan is observed in the first decade of April.
Sows give birth to between 3 and 12 piglets, but most often litters of 6—8 piglets are encountered in spring. By autumn, due to various reasons, usually 4—6 piglets remain in the herd, but in some areas, especially in the regions of northern Kyrgyzstan, the loss can be much greater. Piglets grow very quickly and by October-November in forage-rich areas reach weights of 35—45 kg, with a body length of 105—120 cm and a height at the withers of 65—70 cm. When forage is scarce, their growth is somewhat delayed, and in such cases, piglets weighing only 25 kg are caught in autumn.
The wild boar in Kyrgyzstan is generally a herbivorous animal. Animal food, even during periods of highest consumption, never exceeds 20—30% of the weight of the stomach contents. It is usually represented by mollusks, insects (especially orthopterans and beetles) and their larvae, earthworms, rodents, bird eggs and chicks, lizards, snakes, frogs, carrion, etc.
Plant food is more diverse and can be grouped into three categories. The first group of plant feed includes roots, rhizomes, tubers, and bulbs of various herbaceous plants. Wild boars consume this feed throughout the year in all areas of their distribution. It is especially significant in the diet of wild boars during the winter and early spring periods. For example, in the Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve during the early spring period, wild boars consume the underground parts of 27 plant species, which account for 50—60% of their daily diet. On the Terskey Ala-Too range, a wild boar killed in November in the gorge of the Kara-Batka River had its stomach filled 75% with bulbs of crocuses and onions.
In the early summer period, the vegetative above-ground green parts of plants (especially leaves of legumes, cereals, some species of Rosaceae, umbellifers, etc.) are of the greatest importance in the diet of wild boars.
In autumn, as various edible fruits, berries, and seeds of plants ripen and fall, they begin to play an important role in the animals' diet. In nut-fruit forests, wild boars completely switch to feeding on walnuts, pistachios, apples, and plums. In other areas of their distribution, the fruits of various woody-shrub plants such as juniper, rosehip, rowan, hawthorn, and others are of great importance in the diet of wild boars. In good harvest years, wild boars continue to feed on fruits in winter, digging them out from under the snow.
The high nutritional value of fruits allows animals to quickly accumulate fat, i.e., the reserves that enable them to relatively easily endure the harsh, snow-laden, food-scarce periods. An example of the magnitude of fat reserves can be seen in a five-year-old wild boar killed in nut-fruit forests, which yielded 12 kg of just internal fat, while the subcutaneous fat was layered at 3—4 cm. The wild boar weighed 186 kg. A wild boar of the same age, killed in the same area, weighed only 115 kg.
Red Book
