Wild boar are making a quiet comeback — not just in our landscapes, but in our conversations too.

Attempts to hold boar captive in farms have repeatedly failed and today, pockets of these prolific digging machines can be found across the south of England and several parts of Scotland.

Fans point to their ecological benefits – their rootling turns over the soil and their wallowing creates mini wetlands. They are to our woodlands what beavers are to our rivers.

But this disturbance of the ground is what many people find unsettling. Wild boar strike a nerve because they not only dig in fields and forests, but in gardens, parks, golf courses… even cemeteries.

And, it seems, they have a particular liking for bluebells.

Additional info

At the Edge is an independent media platform that takes a deep dive into our relationship with wild nature, exploring pathways to living well with wildlife.

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This episode of At The Edge is produced in partnership with Adventurous Audio and is kindly supported by Ballintean Mountain Lodge.

Useful links

Meet the contributors on LinkedIn:

Alex Davies, Calum Brown, Chantal Lyons, Toryn Whitehead, and Pete Moore.

Learn more about Bunloit Estate.

Order Groundbreakers, the excellent book about boar by Chantal Lyons.

Read this interim policy brief on feral pigs in Scotland.

Find out more about NatureScot's position on wild boar/feral pigs.

Learn more about wild boar in England and view the Action Plan.