The importance of natural food in wild boar (Sus scrofa) diet during autumn and winter

Abstract. The diet of wild boar (Sus scrofa), a native and problematic species of European ecosystems, highly reflects the management of the species as well as the level of its damaging effect. This study focuses on the importance of natural dietary components in the diet of wild boar over the autumn to winter season (i.e. the main hunting season) in four predominantly oak forests in the Czech Republic. We also studied the effect of supplementary feed, especially maize, on feeding preferences. The oak acorn was always preferred, regardless of other natural or supplementary feeds available. Both acorns and maize are highly nutritional, energy rich foods and boars always consumed at least one of these energy-rich foods. If acorns were not available, supplementary feed, and especially maize, was actively searched for, whereupon they often substituted for acorns nutritionally. The wild boar is the dominant competitor for acorns and can potentially exploit the whole forest crop, depending on the size of the acorn crop, the wild boar population density and the density of other ungulates in the forest. When the acorn biomass was exhausted, supplementary feed (predominantly maize) was always preferred.