Not a Boaring Encounter!

If you walk in their garden they will charge, attack and kill you.

Sadly this is the perception some people have where the wild boars are concerned, in the Forest of Dean. I suppose this is to be expected as the wild boars are controversial animals and why should they be treated any differently than the other controversial animals found all over the world?

It is encounters with these animals like the one I had yesterday morning, which show them as they really are. Not stampeding killing machines, but as tight family units that have a strong bond and will avoid conflict if given the choice.
____________________

The Encounter!

After failing to find the wild boars on Sunday 24 July, I had time to pop out and try again yesterday morning. The conditions were not good for photography, but I was more interested in finding them, than photographing them.
I walked to an area where I have seen then in the past and found some fresh signs that they had been in the area recently. I tracked them from these signs and within 5 minuets I was sat behind a tree with 7 piglets running around in front of me.
Judging by the size of them, they were probably 3 months old and dependant. This was good news as the sow was nowhere to be seen - probably shot like many other sows throughout the forest!



I watched as they foraged the forest floor, searching for roots and bugs.



Then one spotted me!



I stayed perfectly still like I had with the fox on Sunday, but these little ones were not foolish and disappeared into some high and very dense bracken.



I stood on the outside of the bracken for around 5 minuets. I could hear them and see the bracken swaying as they were rooting around within.
I decided to go in and try to find them!
Knowing the sow was not present, I presumed that all was well and that there was no chance of me startling her.
I crept in and came across a clearing, approximately 3 metres across. I could see the bracken swaying, so I knew the piglets were just in front of me. The wind was in my face, so they would not pick up on my scent. They didn't know I was there and it was just a case of being patient, waiting for one to pop out.

Then all of a sudden the bracken started moving like T-Rex was coming through and before I could think "sow" she was there, staring at me!
I was on my knees and had a mixture of adrenalin, excitement and fear pumping through my veins as I looked back at her. As I was on my knees she was around the same height as me, which made me feel vulnerable as I took this photograph.



I held my nerve and ground as she watched me through the bracken and this is when I heard a noise behind me that sent a shiver down my spine. Some piglets had moved around and were behind me and I was now directly between a protective sow and her little ones. This is something I try very hard to avoid as if the sow perceived me as a threat, then the most direct path back to her little ones would be through and probably over me!
Before I could do anything she started moving around me "to my relief" and walked up a slight mound, behind some trees.



The piglets were still in the bracken with me as she circled above, checking me out further. She walked back down the mound and stood there on the edge of the forest, just staring at me.



With a single short grunt, I heard the piglets run towards her and thought she was going to leave the area.
However, she disappeared back into the bracken, heading in my direction! I quickly thought that perhaps I had overstayed my welcome and that I had pushed my luck too far this time, but it was completely the opposite. She just stood in the bracken watching me.



I stayed put for around 10 minuets with the sow and piglets foraging all around me, but I felt that it was time to leave as I couldn't get any clear shots and had quite enough adrenaline in my veins to last quite some time!

Once again another encounter, which blows the scare stories out of the water. I know this animal can be dangerous given the right "or wrong" circumstances, but if you respect them and learn how to behave and react around them, it is one of the most enjoyable and memorable encounters you will ever have with wildlife in the UK.

Rob

Snakes, Birds, Toads and Boar!

Been a hectic few weeks, but I have managed to get out now and then with the camera! Here are a few pics from my time in the Forest of Dean over the last month.


This is a grey heron and it was by far one of the largest I have ever seen, with a wingspan of at least 6 feet!





Toads everywhere and I was spoilt for choice, although I did have to lye in the mud for this shot!





My first adder shot of 2011. A male, which proved very tricky to get close too!





And finally a wild boar sow, complete with piglets!

I spotted their movement from a distance and then proceeded to "try" and get close, using the trees as cover. There were lots of brambles etc all around, which pushed me to get even closer for a clearer shot, bad idea and I should have known better.
Suddenly one of the piglets spotted me and bolted straight back to mum, which left me looking like an idiot for pushing my luck! They disappeared over a small hill, so I quietly crept up and as I approached the top, the sound was like a thousand squirrels jumping around in the leaf litter.
As I peered over the top I could see the piglets rooting around, so I brought the camera up to my eye. This is when I heard it! A grunt from the sow - she was to my right with her head bowed, staring straight at me, no more than 6 metres away!
As I was lying on the ground, I thought to myself "I now look smaller than her and she is probably deciding what action to take against me", so I quickly got up to the crouched position. This was not a deterrent as she then ran about 3 metres towards me and stopped. The piglets soon joined her and this is when I got this photograph.
I tried to move to get the branch out of the frame, but as I did she legged it with piglets closely behind.
I did find them again, but it was obvious that my presence was causing her stress and concern, so I took a few pics and left them to forage in peace.



Rob

Wild Boar

Tracked some Wild Boar yesterday evening. Two sows and half a dozed piglets. They didn't hang around long and I lost the light before I could find them again!
There are two piglets in the second picture, just to the right of the young sow.




Rob

The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review

I have contacted the editor of the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Review to comment and hopefully get an article published, sticking up for the wild boar, instead of condemning it.

The article I am refering to is from page 5 of, Volume 29, No 24, week ending 12th June 2009.


Here is my reply.....

To the editor,

I am writing in response to your article featuring the wild boar, Vol29, No24, WE: 12th June 2009.
Hopefully you will see fit to publish my views. My name is Robin Ward, I am 40 years old and I live in Cinderford in the Forest of Dean. I am a company Director and I have lived in the Dean all my life.
It saddens me when people make assumptions about certain species just because they don't fit in like the rest of our wildlife. Take the wild boar and the snake for instance. I have been photographing our native snakes for many years and I took my first wild boar photograph back in 2006. Since then I have had many encounters with them, sometimes on their own and sometimes with their young, but not once have I encountered an aggressive one! I am passionate about all our wildlife, I also believe that everything has a right to live and that we should not condemn and persecute without obtaining the facts. When people make assumptions like, if I were a child, it would have stood no chance! This is just another nail in the wild boar's coffin, how can anyone make this assumption? The boar sees dogs as a threat, not humans. They are inquisitive and have poor eyesight, only being able to distinguish blue from the three primary colours, so when they see something large walking through the forest, they have to get close to see what it is and if there is something roughly the same size as them on all fours (your dog), then yes they could see it as a threat, especially if they have young present.
The boar, which supposedly charged Mr. ??? would have been trotting up to check him and his dogs out. I have experienced this many times and I have even captured it on video, see link below. There has been a sow and three piglets in the woods where Mr. ??? saw the boar recently, she has been spotted on numerous occasions and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the boar that he saw. I have attached a photograph of her ((c) Robin Ward), taken by me only 2 weeks ago in the same place as Mr. ??? saw his.
I can understand peoples concerns as it is a species, which has not roamed our forests since the 17th Century and people don't know what to expect, but like any wild animal in the Forest of Dean, treat them with respect and leave well alone.
I agree that they will require managing like the fallow deer as they have no natural predators, but the Forestry Commission already manage the deer, so there should be no issue there? I have also attached a few more of my photographs, all from the Forest of Dean. Hopefully you will be able to put together a nice piece, rejoicing our wildlife?
I am also an external writer for BBC Gloucestershire on their nature section, having 8 articles published to date. See BBC wild boar link below. Wild boar video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPlg2oTfKKM Link to my BBC feature: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2007/11/22/wild_boar_feature.shtml

It's not a sin to love wildlife, we need it to survive!



Kind Regards

Robin Ward

Wild Boar Sow (Sus scrofa)

He she is, sadly I missed the little ones!

Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean (Video)

A fantastic encounter with a large sow and her piglets.