Recorded dispersal of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Northeast Spain: Implications for disease-monitoring programs

The wild boar population in Spain has increased in recent decades due to a number of factors, including increased food availability, the abandonment of crops, as well as through hybridization with the domestic pig. Studying dispersal is useful for understanding the ecology of a species and the spread of diseases in wildlife. In the case of the wild boar (Sus scrofa), its dispersal depends on environmental changes, food availability, population density, and hunting pressure. The goal of this study was to describe the dispersal of wild boars captured with cage-traps, anesthetized and marked with ear tags between 2008 and 2012 in Catalonia (northeast Spain). Six of 40 wild boars (16 males and 24 females) were recaptured at a mean linear distance of 45.8 km (min. 30, max. 89.8) from their origin. Surprisingly, females dispersed more than males, 57.7 km on average, a distance 1.7 times greater than females in other parts of the world. These dispersal patterns can be partially explained by the need for new territories. This mammal has experienced a huge increase in both distribution range and status throughout the Iberian Peninsula, probably due to an increase in vegetation cover and a lack of predators. Hence, any information about its dispersal patterns is of special interest to specific management plans. Despite to our moderate sample size, it is clear that the impressive dispersal ability of wild boar should be taken into account in the design of health surveillance programs of wildlife diseases.© 2013 E. Casas-Díaz, F. Closa-Sebastià, A. Peris, A. Miño, J. Torrentó, R. Casanovas, I. Marco, S. Lavín, P. Fernández-Llario & E. Serrano.