BOAR

This animal is mentioned but once in the Scriptures, namely, at Psalm 80:13, where there is allusion to its depredations on unguarded vineyards. It is believed that the wild boar (not to be confused with the male of the domesticated hog, to which it is related) is meant. This animal is still to be found in the swamps of Palestine.

A large wild boar may weigh some 350 pounds (159 kilograms), measure nearly five feet (1.5 meters) in length, and may stand over three feet (.9 meter) high at the shoulder. The snout of the wild boar is specially suited to rooting for food amid forest undergrowth. The tusks, especially those of the male, constitute a formidable weapon, with which it can easily rip up a horse. This animal is not only dangerous but also destructive, it being said that a group of them can ruin an entire vineyard in one night. Its diet, although basically vegetarian, includes a great variety of foods, roots, grain, earthworms, snails, small animals, birds’ eggs and the like.

[Picture on page 246]

Wild boar