Boar tracks
Photo: PK Read

I’m perfectly content with finding only the tracks of wild boar on yesterday’s run, rather than stumbling across the boar (Sus scrofa) themselves. This is one of those cases where I am glad to live in an area that boasts plenty of wildlife, including the large and aggressive sanglier, but I’d prefer to view them only at a distance while they are still on the hoof. In any case, my hope is that my super-bright, unnaturally pink and orange running jacket will keep both the boars and their hunters at a safe distance from me.

Wild boar populations are said to be robust in our area, and given that I’ve seen a couple of large sounders of boar in suburban areas over the past few years  – fortunately, from the safety of my car – I can imagine that there are far more of them higher up in the Jura mountains.

Impressive what a small group can do to a planted field, and probably in a very short span of time. I’ve read that the fields are attractive during wet winter months, when the boar snout around in them for easy insects and worms.