Indian boar

The Indian boar (Sus scrofa cristatus), also known as the Andamanese pig or Moupin pig[2] is a subspecies of wild boar native to India, Nepal, Burma, western Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Indian boar
Sus scrofa cristatus, Bandhavgarh National Park, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Suidae
Genus: Sus
Species:
S. scrofa
Subspecies:
S. s. cristatus
Trinomial name
Sus scrofa cristatus
Wagner, 1839
Synonyms[1]

The Indian boar differs from its European counterpart by its large mane which runs in a crest along its back from its head to lower body, larger, more sharply featured and straighter skull, its smaller, sharper ears and overall lighter build.[3] It is taller and more sparsely haired than the European form, though its back bristles are much more developed.[2] The tail is also more tufted, and the cheeks hairier.[4] Adults measure from 83.82 to 91.44 cm (33.00 to 36.00 in) in shoulder height (with one specimen in Bengal having reached 38 inches) and five feet in body length. Weight ranges from 90.72 to 136.08 kg (200.0 to 300.0 lb).[2]

The animal has interacted with humans in India since at least the Upper Paleolithic, with the oldest depiction being a cave painting in Bhimbetaka,[5] and it occasionally appears in Vedic mythology. A story present in the Brāhmaṇas has Indra slaying an avaricious boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to Vishnu, who offers it as a sacrifice to the gods. In the story's retelling in the Charaka Samhita, the boar is described as a form of Prajāpti, and is credited with having raised the earth from the primeval waters. In the Rāmāyaṇa and the Purāṇas, the same boar (Varaha) is portrayed as an avatar of Vishnu.[6]

See also

References
  1. Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Lydekker, R. (1900), The great and small game of India, Burma, & Tibet, London : R. Ward, pp. 258-266
  3. Sterndale, R. A. (1884), Natural history of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon, Calcutta : Thacker, Spink, pp. 415-420
  4. Jerdon, T. C. (1874), The mammals of India; a natural history of all the animals known to inhabit continental India, London, J. Wheldon, pp. 241-244
  5. Mayer, John J., "Wild Pig Attacks on Humans" (2013). Wildlife Damage Management Conferences – Proceedings. Paper 151. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_wdmconfproc/151
  6. Macdonell, A. A. (1898), Vedic Mythology, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., p. 41
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