[Three Hundred Animals Contents]
INHABITS, for the most part, marshes and woods, and is of a black or brown colour; his flesh is very tender and good for food. The Wild Boar is the original of the hog kind, but more sagacious and cleanly; his tusks are sometimes near a foot in length, and have often proved dangerous to men as well as to dogs in the chace. His life is confined to about thirty years; his food consists of vegetables, but when pressed by hunger, he devours animal flesh. This creature is strong and fierce, and undauntedly turns against his pursuers. The Boar of Calydon killed by Atalanta is often mentioned in mythological poetry. The Boar has two tusks, but much less than those of the wild one; the Sow has none; from the back of the head to the tail, the chine is covered with long and hard bristles, of which great use is made in several trades. In forests they live upon acorns, and their flesh then is much preferable to that of the confined ones, who feed on any filthy things that are in their way. The Hog and Sow live about fifteen or twenty years. This species stands alone in nature, as it bears resemblance to no other.
