Invasion and spatial distribution of wild pigs (Sus scrofa L.) in Brazil

One Health at gunpoint: Impact of wild boars as exotic species in Brazil - A review

“…Due to their phylogenetic proximity, wild boars may present ecological niche overlap with white-lipped and collared peccaries in their ecosystems, forcing these native species to change their dietary habits and habitats and run to open-fields of grain cultivations, as observed in southern Brazil [ 9 , 29 , 40 ]. Besides mountain lions and jaguars hunt wild boars, they may not kill adult animals and enough quantity to stop the population growth [ 41 , 42 ].…”

“…Effective wild boar management and population monitoring have relied on accurate estimative of population density and spreading [ 103 ], with wild boar presence in Brazil confirmed since the 1980's [ 9 ]. Despite few studies of individual numbers and behavior in Brazil, higher female and piglet population in different conservation units have revealed ideal nursery habitats for wild boars, particularly due to hunting prohibition in such areas [ 17 ].…”

“…In South America, wild boars have been present for over 100 years, mostly related with hunting purposes in Argentina, then Uruguay and Chile [ 9 ]. In Brazil, although isolated records of wild boar exist from the 1960s, the exotic species invasion was acknowledged in the late 1980's and early 1990's, after massive importation of commercial livestock in southern states, followed by releases and escapes to natural ecosystems [ 7 , 9 ].…”

“…In South America, wild boars have been present for over 100 years, mostly related with hunting purposes in Argentina, then Uruguay and Chile [ 9 ]. In Brazil, although isolated records of wild boar exist from the 1960s, the exotic species invasion was acknowledged in the late 1980's and early 1990's, after massive importation of commercial livestock in southern states, followed by releases and escapes to natural ecosystems [ 7 , 9 ]. In subsequent years, more commercial wild boars were imported and/or free-range crossed Brazilian borders mostly from Argentina and Uruguay, and associated with increase of popularity as exotic meat [ 10 , 11 ], along with escape and intentional release associated to game hunting, generating the first free-range Brazilian wild boars populations, with different degrees of crossbreeding with domestic pigs [ 12 , 13 ].…”

“…1 , Fig. 2 , Supplementary material 1) [ 9 , 15 ]. The few estimative revealed that wild boar abundance may range from 3/km 2 in the southern Santa Catarina state up to 16/km 2 individuals at the Mantiqueira Mountains, which covers southeastern states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro [ 16 ].…”