Wild boar population size in the Iberian Peninsula was estimated using hunting bag statistics from Spain and Portugal. Density was estimated assigning the wild boar population size to the “potential resources” or suitable habitats categorized by their importance to provide food and/or shelter to wild boars. Land uses were selected from CORINE, the EU database for land cover, using scientific literature and statistical significance for wild boar presence from published data.
The hunting bag was 176245 and 15167 in Spain and Portugal, respectively. The average density was 0.373/km2 (min 0.014-max 2.22) in Spain and 0.13/km2 (min 0.00048-max 1.99) in Portugal, being 0.31/km2 (0.00048-2.22) over the entire Peninsula. Statistical analysis showed that wild boar presence was significantly (p < 0.05) associated to thirteen of the seventeen CORINE land uses selected. Agro-forestry, moors and heathland land use were not statistically significant but were included in the model due to their biological importance. Suitable habitats and distribution of wild boar were mapped for the Iberian Peninsula. This approach is a preliminary step intended to be useful in environmental management and animal health.
A new method of wild boar, Sus scrofa (Linnaeus), census tentatively called the “Carpathian technique” was tested in Poland during February and March 2000–2004. This method is based on the relationship between absolute population density (N/1000 ha of forest) and a snow track index (T/Km x day-1). The absolute density of wild boar was estimated on the basis of 177 sampling plots, of 400–500 ha. Snow tracks of wild boar were counted along line transects with a total length of 4,442 km. High correlation (r=0.59 - 0.88) between the density of tracks counted along line transects (T/Km*day-1) and species density calculated from sampling plots (N/1000 ha) has been obtained. This relationship was employed to calculate the density of wild boar in 58 Forest Districts and 2 National Parks. In forest districts and National Parks, the lowest density of wild boar i.e. 0.49 animals/1000 ha of forest was recorded in Bieszczady Mountains, and the highest density (120.7 individuals/1000 ha) was recorded in the Myślibórz Forest District. Over respective regions (that includes several forest districts and the sampled National Parks), density of wild boar was the lowest in Carpathian and Sudety Mountains, near density = 4.06 animals/1000 ha, while in north-eastern and southern lowland regions density varied from 9.0 to 19.71 animals/1000 ha, respectively. The highest density (36.7 animals/1000 ha) was recorded in north-western lowland forest region.