Originally Posted by
falcon
A college classmate inherited a huge estate in Austria that hosts boar hunts. She says the boars there stage, wait and usually send out "point" pigs. i'll hunt on that estate next year.
i often hunt along the Red River where sounders of 60-80 hogs are common. Those big sounders are often accompanied by 2-4 large boars.
Given that sounders are dominated and controlled by female hogs, it seems odd that there is a claim of boars "sending out" pigs.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74170.html
Wild pigs live in matrilineal groups called sounders that are led by a dominant female. While males are nomadic and are known to move about within their home range, females tend to stay in their familial groups with 80% of females remaining with the sounder in which they were reared.
http://feralhogs.tamu.edu/frequently...ons-wild-pigs/
A “sounder” is a family group of pigs made up of sows (typically related via about 3 generations) and their piglets. Pigs are completely weaned by about 3 months of age, although they have been observed eating solid food (e.g., corn) at as young as 2 weeks of age. About 80% of the yearling females remain with the sounder and the rest disperse. Young males disperse from the sounder at about 16 to 18 months of age. There is some research that supports the idea that sounders can become territorial– but not the individual pigs.
http://www.suwanneeriverranch.com/wi...s-breeding.htm
Maternal family groups can travel together as well as back each other against danger. These groups are called "drifts" or "sounders". The boars though are solitary.
Boars will mate with any sow in season, often battling for the opportunity, and do not remain to perform any familial duties.
Yes, large sounders may be accompanied by a couple of boars, most likely because there are sows coming into heat.