ORF-E
English
1 x 52 min
Worldwide except for France and Germany

This is the surprising story of the most underrated animal in our forests – and its remarkable Comeback. Hunted, slaughtered and exterminated – that was the European wild boar’s fate throughout the last century. But now it’s back! Its weapons: talent, intelligence, and the ability to cope with society’s encroachments. Just 20 years ago an encounter with a wild boar in central Europe was a rarity. But now in some countries the stock of wild boar has become a plague. Families of European boars – “sounders” – can devastate crops overnight, but seem to be swallowed by the woods as soon as daylight returns. Wild boars benefit from the absence of enemies like wolf or bear. And they benefit from climate change, too: as European winters become milder they find more and more food in the forests. Their intelligence is still underrated. Hunters may appreciate the wiles of a tusker and his followers – but in fact the wild sow is the true leader of the gang. Boars’ sense of smell is unequalled by any other large animal – and their powers of deduction often seem to surpass humans’ by far!